Fungal Disease Spreads Through Pacific Northwest

[babsbunny]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126198896&f=1128&sc=igg2

by Richard Knox

A rare and dangerous fungal infection named Cryptococcus gattii has been quietly spreading from British Columbia southward to the U.S. Pacific Northwest. And it's changing as it goes.

Researchers have discovered that a unique strain of the bug has emerged recently in Oregon and already spread widely there, sickening humans and animals.

So far, over the past 11 years there have been about 220 cases reported in British Columbia. Since 2004, doctors in Washington and Oregon have reported about 50 cases. Among the total 270 cases, 40 people have died from overwhelming infections of the lungs and brain.

[Deep13]

1. Jesus Christ!!

:scared:

[TwilightGardener]

2. Teh nature, it is trying to kill us.

:scared:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. It's horrible. I personally know three people who died from this.

I saw it take down a guy in Bellingham as he was crossing the street.

Everybody- stay far away from the PNW.

[cilla4progress]

6. Heh, good idea

Everyone leave the PNW! Now!

[sui generis]

4. Symptoms:

This is a yeast infection from hell.

Most people who are exposed to the fungus do not become ill. In people who become ill, symptoms appear many weeks to months after exposure. Symptoms of cryptococcal disease include:

Prolonged cough (lasting weeks or months)
Sputum production
Sharp chest pain
Unexplained shortness of breath
Sinusitis (infection, cottony drainage, soreness, pressure)
Severe headache (meningitis, encephalitis, meningoencephalitis)
Stiff neck (prolonged and severe nuchal rigidity)
Muscle soreness (mild to severe, local or diffuse)
Photophobia (excessive sensitivity to light)
Blurred or double vision
Eye irritation (infection, soreness, redness)
Focal neurological deficits
Fever (delirium, hallucinations)
Confusion (abnormal behavior changes, inappropriate mood swings)
Seizures
Asystole
Dizziness
Night sweats
Unintended weight loss
Nausea (with or without vomiting)
Skin lesions (rashes, scaling, plaques, papules, nodules, blisters, subcutaneous tumors or ulcers)
Lethargy
Apathy

To be fair most of those are also symptoms of a really bad hangover, so if you must go running about sniffing spores in the pacific northwest, then DON'T drink to excess so the doctors will be able to do a full differential without factoring in alcohol.

I think more people actually shoot their own dicks off than get this disease. We may lose a few in the gungeon . . . c'est la vie.

[FightingIrish]

5. I live in Oregon and Oregon has been mentioned in several of the news articles.

From what I have read, there is no vaccine and no protocol for avoiding the fungus other than staying away from the region or not breathing. That certainly won't help our already sagging tourism. The number of cases over six years is still pretty small. Even though I live surrounded by trees which may host the fungus, I'm not going to add this to the many things I am supposed to be scared shitless about. If I contract the disease now, it probably won't kill me before the world ends in 2012.

[Ratty]

7. Damn Nature, You Scary!

[troubledamerican]

8. UG99 fungus -- world famine threat... Thanks, Climate Change.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_ug99_fungus/

Regional warming is supporting the rise of fungi that will change the balance of life on the planet.