January 7, 2022 3:15 a.m.

An Oregon Health Authority investigation of a Candida auris outbreak affecting 3 patients at Salem Hospital last month has so far found no other cases of the fungal infection.

A release said investigators with the Healthcare-Associated Infections Program at OHA Public Health Division say surveillance testing for Candida auris in patients who had been transferred from affected units at Salem Hospital to other health care facilities, has been negative to date. The last round of broad, unit-based testing at the hospital identified no new cases of the infection.

Dr. Dat Tran, medical director for the Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, said they continue to work with Salem Health and the regional public health laboratory, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to implement additional surveillance testing at Salem Hospital to “increase the level of certainty that there has been no further transmission”.

OHA said Candida auris is type of yeast that can cause severe illness, particularly for those suffering from serious medical conditions in hospitals and nursing homes.

For more information, go to: https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery