Candida auris (C. auris) can spread in healthcare facilities when a patient who is infected or carries the organism without symptoms contaminates nearby surfaces or equipment, or when it is carried between patients on hands or clothing. Hospitals reduce that risk with setting-appropriate precautions, hand hygiene, careful cleaning and disinfection, screening based on local risk, and clear communication during transfers.
How C. auris spreads in healthcare facilities
The main transmission links described in CDC guidance are contact with a colonized or infected patient, contaminated surfaces and medical equipment, and healthcare personnel hands or clothing. This is healthcare-associated contact transmission; the guidance discussed here does not describe ordinary community spread as the concern addressed by hospital infection-control measures. See the CDC clinical overview and infection-control guidance.
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People can carry and spread it without symptoms
Colonization means C. auris is present on the skin or another body site without causing symptoms of active infection. A colonized patient can spread it in the same ways as an infected patient, so appearing well does not rule out a transmission risk. Infection-control measures are therefore not limited to patients who feel ill or have a diagnosed infection.
Nearby surfaces, shared equipment, and hands can connect patients
CDC identifies bedrails, bedside tables, and mobile medical equipment—including glucometers and ultrasound machines—as possible contamination points. If equipment or room surfaces are not properly disinfected between uses or patients, they can provide a route for spread. Personnel hands or clothing can also become part of that chain when they contact a patient or contaminated objects and then have contact with another patient or their environment.
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C. auris can persist on patients and surfaces for long periods. CDC does not establish one survival duration that applies to every surface and condition, so a single fixed number would be misleading.
What hospitals can do to reduce transmission
CDC prevention guidance combines precautions around patient contact with controls for hands, equipment, rooms, and patients whose colonization has not yet been recognized. These are complementary measures, not a head-to-head ranking of which intervention works best.
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Use precautions and placement appropriate to the care setting
CDC recommends Contact Precautions in acute-care and long-term acute-care hospitals. A single-patient room is preferred when possible. When private rooms are scarce, prioritize patients with greater potential to transmit the organism, such as those with uncontained secretions or excretions, diarrhea, or draining wounds. Avoid frequent room changes that could expand the number of people or areas exposed.
Cohorting patients or using a dedicated care area may be appropriate in selected situations, but CDC cautions that these approaches can increase patient movement and create additional opportunities for spread if cleaning is inadequate. Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities should use Contact Precautions or Enhanced Barrier Precautions according to the circumstances and applicable local or state recommendations; these settings do not have one interchangeable rule with hospitals. See CDC prevention guidance.
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Pair hand hygiene with appropriate PPE
CDC’s infection-control guidance, dated September 30, 2026, prefers alcohol-based hand sanitizer when hands are not visibly soiled; use soap and water when they are visibly soiled. Gloves do not replace hand hygiene. Staff should use gowns and gloves according to the applicable precautions and anticipated contact, remove PPE carefully, and clean their hands when leaving the room.
Training should include environmental-services teams and other personnel who enter rooms or handle equipment, not only clinicians providing direct care. See the CDC hand-hygiene and infection-control guidance.
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Clean rooms and disinfect with a product labeled for C. auris
CDC calls for thorough room cleaning and disinfection at least daily and when a patient is discharged or relocated. Use an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant with a C. auris claim, and follow its label directions, including the required contact time—the period the surface must remain wet for the product to work. Products relying solely on quaternary ammonium compounds are not effective against C. auris, and a generic “fungicidal” or Candida albicans claim alone does not establish effectiveness against this organism.
EPA’s List P of registered antimicrobial products effective against C. auris includes CaviWipes 1 (EPA registration 46781-13) with a listed one-minute contact time. That listing is an example, not a blanket purchasing recommendation. A facility should verify the current registration and label on the product it actually uses, including approved surfaces and use sites, and account for local procurement rules. EPA notes that supplemental distributor products can share a base registration number, so check the product label rather than relying on the name alone.
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CDC says evidence for no-touch devices such as germicidal UV and vaporized hydrogen peroxide is limited, and effective-use parameters are not well understood. These technologies should supplement—not replace—standard cleaning and disinfection.
Use screening to find colonization that symptoms will not reveal
Screening can identify colonized patients or residents who may otherwise be missed, helping a facility choose appropriate precautions and disinfectants. CDC says screening scope and frequency should reflect local epidemiology and burden, exposure links, patient risk factors, facility characteristics, and the purpose of screening. In some circumstances, broad point-prevalence surveys may be preferable to narrowly targeted screening because targeted testing can miss colonized people. CDC recommends a composite swab of both armpits and the groin for colonization screening; see its screening recommendations.
Screening should support infection control, not delay or deny a transfer. The decision about whom and when to screen should follow the facility’s risk assessment and applicable public-health recommendations.
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When C. auris is confirmed, CDC advises facilities to report promptly to the health department, follow infection-control recommendations, and consult public health about screening. The sending facility should communicate the patient’s C. auris status to the receiving facility during transfer so precautions can be planned without relying on symptoms alone. Details are in the CDC response guidance.
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