Authorities in the United States and Mexico are requesting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency in response to a fungus outbreak connected to cosmetic operations in Mexico.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that two persons who underwent epidural anesthesia died of meningitis.

Almost 400 persons in the United States and Mexico are being watched.

Two cosmetic clinics in Matamoros, Mexico, have been closed.

Authorities in both the United States and Mexico have recommended anyone who has undergone surgery utilizing epidural anaesthesia at the River Side Surgical Center or Clinica K-3 since January to seek medical attention, even if they are still asymptomatic.

According to the CDC, 25 persons in the United States had “suspected” or “probable” fungal meningitis.

Many Americans fly to Mexico for cosmetic operations such as liposuction, breast augmentation, and Brazilian butt lifts, all of which require the injection of an anaesthetic around the spinal column.

According to Dallas Smith of the CDC, drugs used during anaesthesia in the current outbreak may have been tainted, either in the epidural itself or in other medications administered concurrently during the surgeries, such as morphine.

“There is currently a shortage in Mexico, and there is the possibility of a contaminated black market,” Mr Smith explained.

Last October, a batch of a local anaesthetic commonly used for operations such as Caesarean deliveries was discovered to be contaminated with the same fungus, killing 39 people in the Mexican state of Durango.

Headaches are the most prevalent early sign of fungal meningitis, followed by fever, vomiting, neck pain, and blurred vision.

Fungal meningitis is not communicable and may be treated with antifungal medications; but, if symptoms appear, it can quickly become life-threatening.

Americans frequently travel to Mexico in search of low-cost medical services.

When a disease spreads across borders and requires a coordinated international response to control, the WHO declares a public health emergency.