Prince Charles Hospital Brisbane fungal outbreak: Adam and Muhammad were given a second chance at life when they were given heart transplants. Then they died within weeks. Now a grim theory has emerged about what killed them

Dust from a construction site outside a major hospital may have sparked a deadly mold outbreak, according to Queensland’s Chief Health Officer.

The cluster has caused complications for five transplant patients at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital – and two of them have tragically died.

General practitioner Dr Muhammad Hussain, 55, was given a second chance at life when he received a heart transplant however, in May he fell ill quickly after the operation and died on September 20.

Fellow heart transplant recipient Adam Retmock, 45, was also the victim of a fungal infection that led to his death on Friday.

As families demanded answers, the state’s Chief Health Officer Dr. John Gerrard said Wednesday that construction of a new parking lot at the hospital may have stirred up soil that then found its way into the transplant unit.

“It’s certainly one of the things being investigated,” Dr Gerrard told reporters.

‘These fungi are found all around us in the natural environment, so it is notoriously difficult to pinpoint where individual patients are getting their infections from.’

Adam Retmock (pictured), who also fell victim to a fungal infection, only learned about the infection while watching the news in the hospital after undergoing his transplant

Officials are also looking at how the hospital is cleaned as part of their investigation.

The grieving daughter of Dr. Hussain, Muskaan Hussain, 23, has demanded to know why her family and others were only informed of the infections after it was reported in the media.

“We were contacted by a doctor at Prince Charles Hospital hours before it was revealed in the media,” she said Seven news.

She said the hospital’s communication was “quite lacking.”

“I felt like they weren’t as forthcoming as I expected,” she said.

“I feel like I still have a lot of questions.”

Mr Retmock’s family also said he only learned of the potentially fatal infection while watching the news in hospital after his transplant, and that his doctors had not told him.

The cluster has caused complications in five transplant patients at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital; two of them tragically died

Muskaan Hussain said the hospital’s communication with the family left much to be desired

“He should have known in the hospital because he was a very brave person,” his wife said.

‘I would like there to be perhaps better communication with the other families who are still involved, and all the information to be explained more clearly to them.

“I will miss him forever.”

A hospital spokesperson said reviews of the cases involving fungal infections were at an ‘early stage’.

“Despite extensive testing, no link has been established between the fungal infections identified in the five heart transplant patients and the hospital,” they said.

The state’s Chief Health Officer Dr. John Gerrard said Wednesday that construction of a new parking garage at the hospital may have fueled the ground that made its way into the transplant unit.

Adam Retmock, 45, was one of five patients at Prince Charles Hospital affected by the infection cluster and the second to succumb to the disease

‘Transplant patients are among our most vulnerable patients and can be susceptible to various diseases and infections in the community, especially once they return home.’

All affected patients received prophylactic antifungal treatment.

Early analysis identified four different fungal infection strains among the five patients, one of which was the strain found at Prince Charles Hospital.

One transplant patient with that strain remains in the hospital.