Candida Auris Screening and Infection Control

Screening Recommendations

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends screening for Candida auris in high-risk patients, with axilla and groin composite swabs being the preferred sampling method using specialized culture media or PCR-based detection 1
• Close contacts of known C. auris colonized or infected patients should be screened for C. auris colonization 1

Preferred Screening Methods

• Composite swabs of the axilla and groin are the recommended sampling sites for C. auris screening 1
• Laboratory testing options include specialized salt-containing media or chromogenic agars for culture-based detection 1

Screening Protocol Implementation

• Patients who are confirmed to be colonized with C. auris should be isolated until screening results are available 1
• For contact tracing, all close contacts of confirmed cases should be screened for C. auris colonization 1
• Patients should be considered negative only after 3 consecutive negative screens taken at least 24 hours apart 1

Infection Control Considerations

• Environmental cleaning requires sporicidal disinfectants (hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid-based, or chlorine-based) as quaternary ammonium compounds have poor activity against Candida species 1