Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungal infection, has been found in a long-term care facility in Central Mississippi, NBC affiliate WLBT reported Jan. 10.
C. auris primarily affects those with multiple serious or chronic health conditions and is often spread in hospital or long-term care facilities, according to the report.
The outbreak has occurred in an unnamed facility. So far, there have been 19 cases of C. auris colonization identified, and two deaths, according to a Mississippi State Department of Health advisory.
"[C. auris] causes serious infections, and more than 1 in 3 patients die within a month of being diagnosed with an invasive C. auris infection," the MSDH advisory stated. "Antifungal medications commonly used to treat other Candida infections are often not effective against C. auris."
The CDC has marked C. auris as an emerging global health threat. The infection is difficult to confirm without testing due to the flu like symptoms it causes.