Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prevent the incidence of Candida auris in NHS hospitals.

Public Health England (PHE) is currently undertaking work on the background prevalence of the carriage of Candida auris (C. auris) to help assess the likelihood of incident cases in the National Health Service hospitals to inform screening recommendations. PHE has analysed the global literature to incorporate best practice (including that gained from United Kingdom experience) into updated guidelines, available to view here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/candida-auris-emergence-in-england/candida-auris-within-the-united-kingdom-updated-guidance-published

In each of the last 12 months for which data are available, the number of clinical infections of C.auris and the number of patients who have developed bloodstream infections was fewer than 10.

From August 2016 to August 2017, the three hospitals that have experienced outbreaks of C.auris are:

- Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust (Royal Brompton Hospital);

- Oxford University Hospitals (John Radcliffe Hospital); and

- King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (King’s College Hospital).

As of 14 August 2017 all hospitals have declared their C. auris outbreaks over.