This new infection resists the drugs designed to kill it

And we’re not talking about antibiotic-resistant bacteria this time

Antibiotic resistance—when bacteria become immune to the meds created to kill them—is a growing, serious problem. That’s why doctors are trying to limit the use of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions to stop the issue from getting even worse.

But now it looks like there’s another problem arising: Some fungal infections are now becoming resistant to the drugs designed to treat it, according to a study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Scientists looked at the yeast pathogen called Candida auris, which was first detected from an ear infection back in 2009 in Japan. This bug can cause life-threatening infections of wounds or even of the bloodstream.

After studying 54 samples of yeast from patients, the researchers discovered the vast majority of samples tested were resistant to fluconazole, a first-line antifungal treatment, NPR reports. About 40 percent of the samples were resistant to both fluconazole and a second-line treatment called amphotericin B.

And two of the samples were resistant to all three available classes of antifungal meds.

Not only are these bugs able to resist conventional treatment, but the yeast also have other features that make them especially worrisome. They are able to form biofilms, where the organism attaches to and grows on a surface.

What’s more, unlike most bugs that die without moisture—meaning they’ll be wiped out if a hospital room is cleaned and then left empty—this kind of yeast can survive a day or more of dryness, NPR says. And traditional cleaning strategies with conventional disinfectants failed to clear out the fungi. (However, a disinfectant called chlorhexidine was effective at killing the yeast, a new U.K. report in Emerging Infectious Diseases found.)

As a result of the yeast’s resistance to conventional treatment—and its virulence—the researchers from the U.K. say that infection-preventing strategies in medical environments are necessary to resist the chances of outbreak. Thirteen cases have been identified in the United States so far, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from November found.