Candida auris in South Africa, 2012-2016

To determine the epidemiology of Candida auris in South Africa, we reviewed data from public- and private-sector diagnostic laboratories that reported confirmed and probable cases of invasive disease and colonization for October 2012-November 2016. We defined a case as a first isolation of C. auris from any specimen from a person of any age admitted to any healthcare facility in South Africa. We defined probable cases as cases where the diagnostic laboratory had used a nonconfirmatory biochemical identification method and C. haemulonii was cultured. We analyzed 1,692 cases; 93% were from private-sector healthcare facilities, and 92% of cases from known locations were from Gauteng Province. Of cases with available data, 29% were invasive infections. The number of cases increased from 18 (October 2012-November 2013) to 861 (October 2015-November 2016). Our results show a large increase in C. auris cases during the study period, centered on private hospitals in Gauteng Province.