Tracking clonality by FT-IR spectroscopy in multicentric Candida Auris outbreaks

Candida auris has emerged in healthcare settings as a major fungal threat due to relentless nosocomial spread in long-term medical facilities, multidrug resistance to antifungals, broad clinical presentations, and high mortality rates in immunocompromised patients. It has been included as a critical pathogen on the WHO fungal priority list and consequently, research, development and funding focused on surveillance protocols to limit nosocomial outbreaks are mandatory. In this context, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) can characterize microorganisms based on infrared radiation vibration patterns in biomolecules, creating strain-specific absorbance fingerprints.

Several publications have shown the broad discriminatory power applying this physicochemical technique in bacteria and yeasts, in particular using the IR Biotyper (IR-BT) (Bruker Daltonics GmbH & Co. KG, Bremen, Germany).  In our laboratory, we have applied the IR Biotyper to type clinical strains of Candida auris isolated from multicentric outbreaks that took place in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Between 2022 and 2024 there were 10 outbreaks, making this state the hotspot for outbreaks involving Candida auris in Brazil.

Dr. Reginaldo Gonçalves de Lima-Neto and his team are performing studies with purposes of clonality assessment, traceability in multicenter outbreaks, and clades classification of Candida auris, comparing data from IR Biotyper to genomic sequences and MALDI-TOF MS.

Key Learning Objectives

• FT-IR principles.
• How the sample preparation and workflow of the IR Biotyper can be used in your laboratory.
• How FT-IR technology can be used as a fast and cost effective screening tool in infection control and early outbreak detection.
• How latest statistiscal tools of the IR Biotyper software can be used to visualize results and discover outbreak clusters.

Who Should Attend

• Head of Hygiene and Epidemiology
• Head of Infection Control
• Medical doctors in Infection Control and Prevention
• Medical doctors on ICUs and neonatal ICUs
• Project managers in microbiology
• C- level of hospitals
• Lab directors for microbiology
• Lab directors for infection diseases
• Contract labs offering microbiology and hygiene service
• Project managers in public health laboratories and reference centers