Health Authorities on High Alert After Rare Superbug Found in Australia

Health Authorities on High Alert After Rare Superbug Found in Australia
A strain of Candida auris cultured in a petri dish at a CDC laboratory. Shawn Lockhart/Centers for Disease Control
|Updated:

A Victorian man has been diagnosed with an uncommon fungal superbug that can cause serious infections and possibly cause death.

Health authorities in Victoria said in an alert on Aug. 7 that they believe the man had likely contracted the fungus Candida auris, also known as C. auris, during admission to a hospital in the United Kingdom. This is the first known case of the infection in Victoria.