Study of factors associated with the virulence of clinical isolates of the emerging multiresistant yeast Candida auris recovered in Colombia: in search of predictors of clinical evolution and markers of resistance.

Candida yeast has been associated with a significant number of systemic infections in humans. The incidence of invasive infections caused by the genus Candida has increased in recent years, becoming the most commonly diagnosed fungal infection in humans. The epidemiology of this pathogen indicates that in the USA it is the fourth most common microorganism isolated from blood cultures, in Europe it is classified among the 10 most frequently recovered pathogens, and worldwide, according to a study carried out in intensive care units, the prevalence of candidemia was 6.9 per 1000 patients. In 2009, a new species of Candida grouped within the Candida haemulonii complex, known as Candida auris, was described after its isolation from the ear secretion of a patient in Japan, from which cases, especially fungemias, have been reported in different countries of the world. In Colombia, from 2013 a series of cases have been presented, especially on the Caribbean coast, associated with the recovery of C. auris, mainly from blood culture samples from patients in intensive care units. The fungemias caused by this species have been associated with high mortality, therapeutic failure, and resistance to the main antifungal families.