Published : 04 Mar 2026, 03:48 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 03:26 PM
The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) has warned that patients in intensive care units (ICU) at Dhaka hospitals are at risk of infection from a drug-resistant fungal “superbug”.
The warning comes after research published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum revealed that the highly contagious fungus, Candida auris (C auris), is present at high levels in both private and public hospitals.
The study also revealed that the fungus is no longer confined to neonatal units but is actively spreading among critically ill adult patients, posing a severe threat of hospital-acquired infections.
A media statement issued by the research organisation on Tuesday said the study was conducted between August 2021 and September 2022 among 372 ICU patients in two hospitals in Dhaka.
The study was a collaborative effort between icddr,b and the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), with technical assistance from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Researchers screened patients upon admission and throughout their stay using skin swabs and blood samples to detect colonisation or bloodstream infections.
“The researchers also found that this happened more often in the public hospital than in the private hospital, with about 13 percent of patients picking up the fungus during their ICU stay in the public hospital compared to about 4 percent in the private hospital,” the statement said.
By international standards, it said, the levels seen in these Dhaka ICUs are high.
Studies from high-income countries such as Canada and the United Arab Emirates have reported much lower rates, often well below 0.5 percent, the icddr,b said.
The study found that approximately 7 percent of patients carried C auris during their ICU stay.
More than one-third of these patients acquired the fungus after being admitted to the hospital, indicating active internal transmission, the statement said.
The data highlighted a significant disparity between healthcare settings, with 13 percent of patients in public hospitals acquiring the fungus during their stay, compared with 4 percent of patients in private hospitals, according to the study.
Laboratory analysis revealed that the fungus is becoming nearly impossible to treat with standard medication.
All collected samples were resistant to fluconazole, a first-line antifungal, and all but one were resistant to voriconazole, according to the study.
"This study shows that Candida auris is not just a problem among critically ill neonates, but a wider threat in all intensive care settings," Dr Fahmida Chowdhury, lead of the AMR Research Unit at icddr,b, was quoted as saying in the media statement.
"We are seeing clear signs of spread within hospitals and high levels of resistance... this underlines the urgent need to strengthen infection prevention," Fahmida, who is also the project's principal investigator, added.
Patients requiring invasive procedures, such as mechanical ventilation or urinary catheters, and those with prolonged ICU stays were found to be at the highest risk.
Genetic testing confirmed that the strains belong to a specific South Asian lineage, suggesting the "superbug" is now firmly established within the region's environment rather than being imported.
The researchers advised using effective chlorine-based disinfectants for cleaning, enforcing strict hand hygiene among healthcare workers, and implementing routine screening in high-risk units to identify carriers early.
The researchers noted that more extensive studies are required to understand the full scale of the C auris threat across Bangladesh.
