Skin Metagenomic Sequence Analysis of Early Candida auris Outbreaks in U.S. Nursing Homes
Xin Huang, Rory M. Welsh, Clay Deming, Diana M. Proctor, Pamela J. Thomas, NISC Comparative Sequencing Program, Gabrielle Gussin, Susan S. Huang, Heidi H. Kong, Meghan L. Bentz, Snigdha Vallabhaneni, Tom Chiller, Brendan R. Jackson, Kaitlin Forsberg, Sean Conlan, Anastasia P. Litvintseva, Julia A. Segre
Abstract
Candida auris is a human pathogen of high concern due to its extensive antifungal drug resistance and high mortality rates associated with invasive infections. Candida auris skin colonization and persistence on environmental surfaces make this pathogen difficult to control once it enters a health care facility. Residents in long-term care hospitals and nursing homes are especially vulnerable. In this study, we developed microbiome sequencing protocols directly from surveillance samples, including amplicon and metagenomic sequencing, demonstrating concordance between sequencing results and culturing.