Article

Plastic pollution as a novel reservoir for the environmental survival of the drug resistant fungal pathogen Candida auris

Details

Citation

Akinbobola A, Kean R & Quilliam RS (2024) Plastic pollution as a novel reservoir for the environmental survival of the drug resistant fungal pathogen Candida auris. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 198, Art. No.: 115841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115841

Abstract
The WHO recently classified Candida auris as a fungal pathogen of “critical concern”. Evidence suggests that C. auris emerged from the natural environment, yet the ability of this pathogenic yeast to survive in the natural environment is still poorly understood. The aim of this study, therefore, was to quantify the persistence of C. auris in simulated environmental matrices and explore the role of plastic pollution for facilitating survival and potential transfer of C. auris. Multi-drug resistant strains of C. auris persisted for over 30 days in river water or seawater, either planktonically, or in biofilms colonising high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or glass. C. auris could be transferred from plastic beads onto simulated beach sand, particularly when the sand was wet. Importantly, all C. auris cells recovered from plastics retained their pathogenicity; therefore, plastic pollution could play a significant role in the widescale environmental dissemination of this recently emerged pathogen.

Keywords
Anti-fungal drug resistance; Beach sand; Environmental pathogens; Human exposure; Plastisphere; Bathing water quality

Journal
Marine Pollution Bulletin: Volume 198

StatusPublished
FundersNERC Natural Environment Research Council and Natural Environment Research Council
Publication date31/01/2024
Publication date online06/12/2023
Date accepted by journal21/11/2023
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/35754
PublisherElsevier BV
ISSN0025-326X
eISSN1879-3363

People (1)

Professor Richard Quilliam

Professor Richard Quilliam

Professor, Biological and Environmental Sciences

Projects (1)