Health officials in Washington are investigating what is believed to be the state's first Candida auris infection in a Pierce County man.
The individual tested positive at Kindred Hospital Seattle-First Hill during an admission screening, according to a July 18 health alert shared on the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department's website. The facility is an 80-bed long-term acute care hospital. Prior to that, he spent about six weeks at Tacoma, Wash.-based St. Joseph Medical Center and has "multiple comorbidities."
Health officials are working with the hospitals to investigate.
"We will provide testing for other patients who may have been exposed," the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said. "This patient will remain isolated while he continues to receive care."
A spokesperson for St. Joseph Medical Center, which is part of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV the facility found out the individual tested positive for the fungus July 14, after he had already been discharged.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately relocated the patient currently in the room that was previously occupied by the infected patient. The care and safety of our patients and staff remains the top priority for us," said Kelly Campbell, division vice president of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.
Read more about the drug-resistant fungus here.