Antifungal drugs work together to treat germs causing fungal infections

Abstract

Life-threatening infections can be caused by a fungus called Candida auris (shortened to C. auris) that is found in the hospital environment. This study looked at how well different drugs could treat C. auris infection. Samples were collected from 36 people who had C. auris infection. The samples were treated with single drugs and in combination. We found that the main drug types did not work on most samples. Genetic differences we found in the C. auris samples could explain why the main drugs did not work. However, a drug called isavuconazole worked on almost all samples. We also found that a drug called anidulafungin worked better against C. auris when it was combined with either isavuconazole or another drug called voriconazole. To read the full Plain Language Summary of this article, click on the View Article button above and download the PDF.