Study finds multidrug-resistant yeast on hospital workers’ gowns, gloves

The transfer of a multidrug-resistant yeast from hospitalized patients to the gloves and gowns of healthcare workers occurred often, a prospective cohort study found. The yeast, Candidozyma auris, can cause severe, life-threatening infections, especially in patients with serious medical conditions. In more than 1,000 interactions between healthcare workers and 109 patients who had a current or previous history of C. auris, transfer to gloves and/or gowns occurred 29% of the time. The transfer rate surpassed the 16% rate noted for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and 10% rate for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in similar studies. The researchers called for “meticulous compliance with gloves and gowns and hand hygiene to avoid self-contamination and possible onward transmission of C. auris.” Open Forum of Infectious Diseases published the results. (MedPage Today article, 9/15/26)