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Rare Tropical Fungus Infects Four, Kills Two in Washington State
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A rare tropical fungus has found its way into
Washington state infecting at least four residents, two of whom have died, a
health official said.
Cryptococcus gattii, invisible to the naked eye and found mostly in trees
and soil, has infected at least four residents this year, two of them
fatally, county health officer Greg Stern said.
The fungus first appeared in British Columbia six years ago and is believed
to have crossed the border into Washington's Whatcom County.
"I'm concerned about the emergence of a new disease, but it still is
relatively rare and that part is reassuring," Stern said. "Even on Vancouver
Island and the B.C. mainland, where the assumption would be fairly
significant exposure to the spores, very few people get sick."
Scientists haven't found a way to reduce the risk of getting the disease, he
noted.
Cryptococcus gattii is sometimes resistant to medication that is used to
treat a more common, related fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, which
typically infects people whose immune systems are impaired.
Courtney Blomeen, 16, of Blaine, the county's fourth known case this year,
first thought she had a severely strained shoulder muscle and a chest cold
last month, but a computer imaging scan revealed otherwise.
"I couldn't breathe, it scared me so much," her father, Greg Blomeen, told
The Bellingham Herald. "Her left lung had completely blocked off. There were
marble-sized nodules that were showing bright white. It was so bad that the
one lung was at collapse."
The next day the teenager and her parents had to stay in a special room at
Children's Hospital in Seattle until doctors confirmed that the lung problem
was not contagious.
Back at her mother's house in Blaine, she still finds breathing difficult at
times and expects to be on anti-fungal medication for about a year but is
glad to be getting better.
"There's not much air space in there," she said. "Other than that, it's not
that bad. I can walk now."
When Cryptococcus gattii infections usually begin in the lungs but can also
spread to the brain and develop into deadly meningitis.
The fungus was believed to be largely confined to the tropics until 2001,
when it was first diagnosed on Vancouver Island. Since then it has been
found in dogs, cats, horses and porpoises, as well as humans, and has been
blamed for the death of eight people in British Columbia.
Spores of the fungus have been found on trees and in soil, air and water
throughout eastern Vancouver Island, mainland areas around Vancouver and
more recently on a fence post just south of the border, health officials
said.
No parks or other areas in British Columbia have been closed to the public
because of the fungus.
"I certainly don't recommend people stop going outdoors or avoid being near
trees," Stern said. "That's not likely to make a difference."
Out of about a million people who are exposed to the fungus annually in the
province, 20 to 30 become seriously ill and a total of about eight have
died, British Columbia health officials say.
Most British Columbia residents who contracted the illness had healthy
immune systems, but 45 percent - like the Blaine teenager - were smokers,
and 73 percent had smoked at one time.
Other ailments also may be a factor, Stern said, noting that one of those
who died of the fungus in Whatcom County had a compromised immune system
from other factors.
Rare Tropical Fungus Infects Four, Kills Two in Washington State
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A rare tropical fungus has found its way into
Washington state infecting at least four residents, two of whom have died, a
health official said.
Cryptococcus gattii, invisible to the naked eye and found mostly in trees
and soil, has infected at least four residents this year, two of them
fatally, county health officer Greg Stern said.
The fungus first appeared in British Columbia six years ago and is believed
to have crossed the border into Washington's Whatcom County.
"I'm concerned about the emergence of a new disease, but it still is
relatively rare and that part is reassuring," Stern said. "Even on Vancouver
Island and the B.C. mainland, where the assumption would be fairly
significant exposure to the spores, very few people get sick."
Scientists haven't found a way to reduce the risk of getting the disease, he
noted.
Cryptococcus gattii is sometimes resistant to medication that is used to
treat a more common, related fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, which
typically infects people whose immune systems are impaired.
Courtney Blomeen, 16, of Blaine, the county's fourth known case this year,
first thought she had a severely strained shoulder muscle and a chest cold
last month, but a computer imaging scan revealed otherwise.
"I couldn't breathe, it scared me so much," her father, Greg Blomeen, told
The Bellingham Herald. "Her left lung had completely blocked off. There were
marble-sized nodules that were showing bright white. It was so bad that the
one lung was at collapse."
The next day the teenager and her parents had to stay in a special room at
Children's Hospital in Seattle until doctors confirmed that the lung problem
was not contagious.
Back at her mother's house in Blaine, she still finds breathing difficult at
times and expects to be on anti-fungal medication for about a year but is
glad to be getting better.
"There's not much air space in there," she said. "Other than that, it's not
that bad. I can walk now."
When Cryptococcus gattii infections usually begin in the lungs but can also
spread to the brain and develop into deadly meningitis.
The fungus was believed to be largely confined to the tropics until 2001,
when it was first diagnosed on Vancouver Island. Since then it has been
found in dogs, cats, horses and porpoises, as well as humans, and has been
blamed for the death of eight people in British Columbia.
Spores of the fungus have been found on trees and in soil, air and water
throughout eastern Vancouver Island, mainland areas around Vancouver and
more recently on a fence post just south of the border, health officials
said.
No parks or other areas in British Columbia have been closed to the public
because of the fungus.
"I certainly don't recommend people stop going outdoors or avoid being near
trees," Stern said. "That's not likely to make a difference."
Out of about a million people who are exposed to the fungus annually in the
province, 20 to 30 become seriously ill and a total of about eight have
died, British Columbia health officials say.
Most British Columbia residents who contracted the illness had healthy
immune systems, but 45 percent - like the Blaine teenager - were smokers,
and 73 percent had smoked at one time.
Other ailments also may be a factor, Stern said, noting that one of those
who died of the fungus in Whatcom County had a compromised immune system
from other factors.
