In a new paper this week, the scientists who treated and investigated these initial cases say the covid-19 pandemic helped create a breeding ground for the fungus to emerge and spread inside a hospital’s intensive care unit.

And on Monday, a new study detailed two of these first cases, both patients who were hospitalized for covid-19 in the same intensive care unit at a hospital in the city of Salvador.

According to the report, published in the Journal of Fungi, the cases involved a 59-year-old man and 72-year-old woman, both of whom were hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome from covid-19 in October 2020 and November 2020, respectively.

auris among covid-19 patients.

auris isn’t the only fungal infection linked to covid-19 that’s had doctors spooked as of late.

During the latest and most deadly peak of the pandemic in India, cases of a normally very rare infection caused by mucormycetes, called black fungus, began to surge, with around 12,000 cases documented in the country over the past few months.

auris, this infection can prove incredibly fatal once it starts to sicken hospitalized patients, killing up to half of its victims.

All these cases provide an apt reminder of the direct and indirect toll covid-19 has had, one that’s likely to continue for the foreseeable future in countries without an ample supply of covid-19 vaccines or other precautionary measures.

auris found in these Brazilian cases, which seems to be the first local appearance of a particular subtype of the fungus (Clade I, first found in South Asia) documented in South America.