05 Feb NYMC Study Links Newly Discovered Resistant Yeast Infection to Travel from South Asia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Chaturvedi
Prof. Vishnu Chaturvedi, Ph.D., HCLD
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
New York Medical College
Department of Pathology, Westchester Medical Center
Valhalla, New York,
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How does Candida auris differ from Candida albicans, ie in clinical presentation or treatment?
- Candida aurisis a newly discovered yeast that is considered a global health threat by the CDC and WHO. The sudden emergence and rapid spread of this multidrug-resistant pathogen is being explained by several published hypotheses. These include global warming, salt water tolerance, or agriculture use of fungicides as plausible causes.
In the US, the NY-NJ metropolitan area was the first to suffer from drug-resistant Candia auris clade I genotype. None of the earlier hypotheses could explain the appearance in NY-NJ. Here, we set out to answer two related questions: “why NY-NJ?” and “why clade I?”
- Candida albicansis a well-known commensal yeast that frequents human mucosal surfaces in the mouth, vagina, etc. In contrast, Candida auris is a newly discovered yeast that colonizes the skin of hospitalized patients and long-term care residents. A small subset of those colonized develop Candida auris bloodstream and deep tissue infections.
- Candida auris differs from albicans in its ability to cause healthcare-associated infection outbreaks. Candida auris is also prone to rapid acquisition of the resistance of multiple antifungal drugs. Finally, C. auris bloodstream infections cause high mortality.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: We present a Monte Carlo simulation to support a novel hypothesis that the earliest introductions of Candida auris in the US (New York–New Jersey area) are not random but related to travel networks that have an origin in South Asia. Candida auris South Asia clade I genotype, is also the prevalent fungus in NY-NJ, and displays a similar pattern of resistance to various antifungal drugs. Thus, providers and public health professionals will be more effective in controlling the spread of this pathogen by probing the patient’s travel history, conducting active surveillance, and using of C. auris-specific laboratory tests.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen, with resistance to several antifungal drugs. Serious C. auris infections affect hospitalized patients and residents of long-term care facilities, although the pathogen can also be present on a healthy individual’s skin. Here, we present a simulation that supports the hypothesis that the earliest introductions of C. auris in the New York–New Jersey area were not random but related to air travel from South Asia, which remains a hotbed for this pathogen.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?
Response: There are certain inherent limitations in laboratory simulations. We did not examine the reasons behind further spread once Candia auris was introduced to the United States. To illuminate Candida auris’s movement at global, local, and hospital levels, we need a detailed whole genome analysis of early New York isolates and other US isolates.
No disclosures.
Citation:
Verma RR, Kiegle E, Keyel AC, Chaturvedi S, Chaturvedi V. 2025. Simulating a travel-related origin of Candida auris in New York–New Jersey. Microbiol Spectr 13:e02065-24.
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02065-24
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Last Updated on February 5, 2025 by Marie Benz MD FAAD