Microbe Profile: Candidozyma auris: an emergent and resilient yeast and new antifungal strategies

Graphical abstract Overview of Candidozyma auris biology. (a) Climate change and associated environmental stressors are hypothesized to have been a driver for this heat and salt tolerant pathogen to emerge. Exactly how it spreads from the environment into the hospital remains unknown. (b) Within the clinical environment, it is able to colonize and persist on the skin of patients and clinical staff. It is readily transferred and shed from patients onto fomites and medical equipment, where it can survive for prolonged periods. (c) On patients and the wider hospital environment, it can persist as adherent wet and dry surface biofilm communities that are highly tolerant to antifungal agents, antiseptics and disinfectants through inhibition by biofilm properties (e.g. extracellular matrix).