Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Oct;30(10):2107-2117. doi: 10.3201/eid3010.240173.
Candida auris is considered a nosocomial pathogen of high concern and is currently spreading across the United States. Infection control measures for C. auris focus mainly on healthcare facilities, yet transmission levels may already be significant in the community before outbreaks are detected in healthcare settings. Wastewater-based epidemiology (culture, quantitative PCR, and whole-genome sequencing) can potentially gauge pathogen transmission in the general population and lead to early detection of C. auris before it is detected in clinical cases. To learn more about the sensitivity and limitations of wastewater-based surveillance, we used wastewater-based methods to detect C. auris in a southern Utah jurisdiction with no known clinical cases before and after the documented transfer of colonized patients from bordering Nevada. Our study illustrates the potential of wastewater-based surveillance for being sufficiently sensitive to detect C. auris transmission during the early stages of introduction into a community.
耳念珠菌被认为是一种高关注的医院病原体，目前正在美国各地传播。针对耳念珠菌的感染控制措施主要集中在医疗机构，但在医疗机构爆发之前，该病原体在社区中的传播水平可能已经很高。基于废水的流行病学（培养、定量 PCR 和全基因组测序）可以潜在地评估普通人群中的病原体传播，并在临床病例之前早期检测到耳念珠菌。为了更多地了解基于废水的监测的敏感性和局限性，我们在犹他州南部的一个司法管辖区使用基于废水的方法，在有记录的从毗邻内华达州转移定植患者之前和之后，对没有已知临床病例的地区进行了检测。我们的研究说明了基于废水的监测在社区引入的早期阶段检测到耳念珠菌传播的潜力。
