Candida parapsilosis: growing threat for hospitalized patients
The yeast Candida parapsilosis is emerging as a growing threat for hospitalized patients in a new study. A team led by Dr Amelia Barber from the Cluster of Excellence „Balance of the Microverse“ at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Dr Grit Walther from the National Reference Centre for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk) investigated an outbreak of multi-drug resistant hospital-acquired strain of this fungus. The researchers developed a new molecular detection method that can quickly and cost-effectively differentiate strains of C. parapsilosis. The results were published in The Lancet Microbe. Candida parapsilosis is a yeast fungus that can colonise the skin and digestive tract of humans and is usually harmless. However, it can cause severe wound and tissue infections, including life-threatening septicaemia, in people who are immunocompromised as a result of cancer or organ transplants or with serious medical conditions requiring…




