Lecture 14: Candida auris Flashcards
Give an example of unicellular vs. multicellular fungi. How does each type reproduce?
- Unicellular: yeast
- Reproduce by budding - Multicelular: molds
- Reproduce asexually through spores
Most fungi are opportunistic but _____ fungi are true pathogens.
dimorphic
What is candidiasis? What causes it? What are the types of infections? What is the first line of treatment?
- Opportunistic infections caused by Candida spp. (part of the microflora)
- Most infections caused by Candida albicans
- Other common species: C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, and C tropicalis - Vaginal (yeast infection), oral (thrush), UTI, skin and nails
- Fluconazole
What is invasive candidiasis? What are its 3 major routes to the bloodstream?
- Systemic spread of the Candida yeast
- GI tract, intravascular catheter, from a localized infection
When was Candida auris first identified? When did reporting begin? When did it become a national notifiable disease? When did the first identified case occur?
- 2009: isolated from external ear canal discharge of a patient in Japan
- C. auris reporting began in 2016
- 2018: became a national notifiable disease
- 2013: first identified case
What is the mortality rate of C. auris? Why is it so high?
30-60%
- Resistant to antifungals
- No concrete documentation for theraputic options for infection
Explain how C. auris emerged and spread.
- Global warming is responsible for raising ambient climate temperatures, which selects fungal clades that can reproduce at avian and mammalian basal temperatures
- C auris previously existed as a plant saprophyte that gained thermotolerance and salinity tolerance as a result of the effects of climate change on ht wetland ecosystem
- Thermotolerant C. auris may have been transplanted by birds across the globe to rural areas where human and birds are in constant contact
- Rural environment activities (e.g. farming) provide the opportunity for interspecies transmission of virulent pathogens such as C. auris