The Silent Surge — Tracking Candida auris:
How did a microscopic yeast evade standard disinfectants and routine diagnostics, becoming one of healthcare’s most persistent multidrug-resistant threats?
This case study explores how Candida auris exploited diagnostic blind spots, leveraged its environmental resilience, and invaded post-acute transfer networks to establish itself across U.S. healthcare systems.
In high-acuity healthcare facilities nationwide, Candida auris is testing the limits of modern public health surveillance and infection control (MO 3.1). This case study guides learners through the U.S. emergence of this multidrug-resistant fungus, examining how environmental, social, and economic drivers—from thermal adaptation and post-acute transfer networks to agricultural fungicide selection—fuel its persistence (MO 3.2). Learners will evaluate diagnostic breakthroughs like MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, analyze public health surveillance data, and craft communication strategies to align media perception with clinical reality (MO 3.3). Applying bioinformatics tools and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) metrics, learners will track SNP distances to distinguish facility transmission from novel strain introductions (MO 3.4). Finally, working in structured, role-based teams, learners will solve 10-minute rapid-response scenarios and participate in structured peer feedback to strengthen collaborative skills (MO 3.5).
Javascript is required to use Gala.