BLASTOMYCOSIS – USA (02): (MICHIGAN) FATAL
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Sun 11 Feb 2024
Source: MSN [abridged, edited]
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/deadly-fungal-disease-sweeps-us-as-two-family-members-of-same-family-die-from-condition/ar-BB1i5ODX
A young man has tragically died due to a deadly fungal disease. He is
the second in his family to pass away from this same illness. [IP], a
29-year-old chef from Michigan, sadly became a victim of spreading
fungal diseases.
On top of being a chef, [IP] was also a victim of blastomycosis. After
losing the fight, his cousin [LW] revealed that he was not the first
casualty to this fungus in their family — her husband had also passed
away due to the disease.
She said: “[IP] is the second in my family to succumb to this disease.
Had I not gone through it with my husband I would have never known
what this disease is and the damage it does — not only to the person
fighting it but to the families and friends who are watching.”
Blastomycosis is spread by microscopic yeast spores that people
breathe in, and it especially loves rotting wood and soil. It’s
usually found in the upper Midwest but seems to be spreading to the
East Coast perhaps because our planet is warming up.
Sadly, [LW] still doesn’t know how her husband got infected in June
2020, right smack in the middle of the COVID pandemic when he was also
dealing with an underlying kidney disease. Nurses had to rush him from
a dialysis session straight to the hospital after weeks of him
struggling for breath, feeling really tired, and suffering from muscle
pains.
He was rushed to the hospital after an X-ray showed masses on his
lungs, thought to be pneumonia. However, further tests revealed he had
blastomycosis. He spent a month in the hospital before being
transferred to a specialist facility for advanced care.
She continued: “Instead of regaining his strength, he became weaker.
Every time the hospital would call, there would be news of yet another
setback. At the end of September 2020, I received a call from his
sister telling me he had made the decision to come home on hospice
care. She placed the phone to his ear so I could talk with him to
confirm. A few days later, I spoke with his case manager and made the
arrangements for him to come home.”
People can get sick from this fungus when it grows in wet soil,
leaves, and rotting wood. It then gets released into the air and can
cause infections in people’s bodies. For example, the fungus that
causes blastomycosis changes into a type of yeast that multiplies in
the lungs and causes infection.
The government has been keeping track, and while there were only about
60 cases in the United States from 2013 to 2016, in 2022, there were
over 2300.