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A rare tropical fungus that showed up in British Columbia six years ago and has infected more than 100 people has spread south, infecting at least four residents of Whatcom County, Washington, killing two of them, according to health officials.
Cryptococcus gattii is invisible to the naked eye and found mostly in trees and soil, county health officer Greg Stern said. He and other medical experts say that considering how many are exposed to the fungus annually, often in the woods and other outdoor areas, infection remains relatively rare.
"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."
The fungus 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.
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. |
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