SYDNEY, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities have launched an investigation after two people died as a result of a fungal outbreak linked to construction work at one of Sydney's largest hospitals.
The Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) on Thursday confirmed that six transplant ward patients at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in the inner-city suburb of Camperdown were infected with a strain of Aspergillus fungus between October and December.
It said that two of the patients subsequently died with the infection.
Aspergillus is a genus consisting of hundreds of mold species, some of which can cause serious illness when their spores are inhaled.
The SLHD said on Thursday that it launched an investigation when it discovered an increased number of fungal infections among the hospital's transplant patients.
It said that the cluster was likely caused by ongoing construction works disturbing deposits of mold. ■