So far, there have been no positive cases in Yuma County.

YUMA, Arizona (KECY, KYMA) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is concerned that the fungus is spreading across the United States.

It’s called Candida auris and can be deadly, especially for people with health problems.

So far, there have been no positive cases in Yuma County.

But public health officials are closely monitoring results from the University of Arizona Ag Extension lab in Yuma and are ready.

“Candida auris is a fungus that typically spreads in hospitals, long-term care facilities, or in close proximity,” said Brad Schmitz, the project’s principal investigator.

There were 17 cases in Arizona and 359 cases in California last year, according to the CDC.

The CDC also says that healthy people are often unaware that they are infected, so local wastewater testing is essential to prevent outbreaks.

“So by looking at the sewage system, it’s very easy to look at the public and see how prevalent the disease is,” Schmitz said.

Technicians like Jasmine Miranda are doing just that, putting wastewater under a microscope and looking for samples of Candida auris.

“After we can run these plates in PCR, it takes about an hour and a half to get those results,” says Miranda.

This means public health officials can respond quickly if a case occurs in Yuma County.

“You can learn quite a bit from poop. As long as people poop, we can learn a lot about our community,” Schmitz said.