U.S., Mexico ask WHO for emergency declaration over deadly fungal outbreak

Authorities in the U.S. and Mexico have asked the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern over a deadly fungal outbreak, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Friday. The request comes after recruiters lured hundreds of patients from multiple countries and 24 U.S. states to two facilities in Mexico for cosmetic operations that may have exposed them to the fungus. 

The CDC is currently monitoring the condition of 195 people across the U.S. who got surgeries involving epidural anesthesia at the now-shuttered River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3 in Mexico.

Fourteen are "suspected" and 11 are "probable" cases of fungal meningitis — infections of the brain or spinal cord —  based on their symptoms or test results. Two of these patients have died. Six potential cases have been ruled out since the CDC's last update on Wednesday.