CANDIDA AURIS: A BRIEF REVIEW ON NOTORIOUS NOSOCOMIAL MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT CANDIDA SPECIES AS AN EMERGING FUNGUS GLOBALLY

Dr. Nandita Sharma, Birasen Behera, Dr. Lipika Jena*, Dr. Rajashree Panigrahy

ABSTRACT

Infections in today’s world are one of the most important mortality and morbidity cause more so in low and lower‐middle income countries,[1,2] Intensive care units (ICUs) have been an important source of infections, worldwide, especially bacterial.[3-7] Studies conducted in Europe and North America have reported that primary (at the time of admission) as well as secondary (nosocomial, ventilator‐associated, device‐related, and others) infections are common in ICUs.[6] Recent studies from different areas of the country have reported that both primary and secondary infections with gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria are widespread.[8-12] Fungi have recently emerged as a major cause of human diseases, especially among patients who are hospitalized for a long duration or are immunocompromised.[13] The most common fungi involved in invasive disease in humans are opportunistic yeasts like Candida albicans or filamentous fungi like Aspergillus Spp. fungi such as Candida (except C. albicans), Fusarium, Trichosporon and Malassezia spp., which were previously considered to be non-pathogenic for humans or were only causing human diseases sporadically are now emerging as leading nosocomial fungal pathogens have become a source of concern. Candida spp. belong to the normal microbiota of an individual’s mucosal oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina.[14] Candida spp. is the only opportunistic fungi; that exist both as a commensal and pathogen. It is also unique among the mycotic pathogens as it causes a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from mere mucocutaneous overgrowth to life threatening systemic infections.[15] Over past two decades, there has been a change in the distribution of Candida species causing nosocomial infections from C. albicans to Non-albicans Candida (NAC) species such as C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, and C. lusitaniae.[16]

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