Cases of a potentially deadly fungus have risen to an alarming rate — sparking a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it is an "urgent threat" in a recent release about a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

It can cause severe infections and death in those who are immunocompromised or have underlying medical issues and indwelling devices, health experts told Fox News Digital.

"Candida auris is a strain of yeast that has been found in hospital settings," Dr. Frederick Davis, the associate chair of Emergency Medicine at Northwell Health on Long Island New York, told Fox News Digital.

"There are many types of antifungals; some of them work, and some of them don’t," said Aaron Glatt, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital on Long Island, New York.

The infectious disease expert said while this type of fungal infection is not something that healthy people typically need to be concerned about, they do need to be aware of preventing the spread of the fungus, especially in nursing home facilities, hospitals and long-term care units where there are vulnerable populations.

One explanation for the dramatic increase in cases of the fungus, according to the authors of the CDC report, could be the decreased infection control measures during the pandemic, due to the strain that COVID-19 put on health care systems.