Deadly Fungus Blamed for deaths of people and animals
Pastor Dale Morgan
*
Oct 7, 4:13 PM EDT
*Deadly Fungus Blamed for deaths of people and animals*
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) -- A microscopic fungus native to Australia and
blamed for the death of people and animals in British Columbia is now
linked to the deaths of porpoises and at least one cat in Washington state.
Necropsies have that revealed cryptococcus gattii, first detected in the
region on Vancouver Island in 1999, was the cause of death in six
porpoises and a cat in the state, Washington's former public health
veterinarian, Almira Jane Leslie, told The Herald of Everett.
The cat that died and two others that were infected with the fungus last
year were in Whatcom County, which borders on British Columbia, and the
porpoises were among 25 that have died in Washington state and British
Columbia since 1999, Leslie said.
Except for a few isolated cases in animals in aquariums, doctors and
veterinarians said it was the first time the fungus, which is invisible
to the naked eye, has been documented in the United States.
It is typically found in eucalyptus trees in the tropics of Australia
but also grows on other trees and can drift or be blown into water as
leaves dry out. Since the fungus was discovered in Canada it has been
blamed for the death at least four people, all in British Columbia.
Dogs, llamas, ferrets, pet birds and horses also have been infected, and
authorities at the British Columbia Center for Disease Control estimate
that 25 people become sick with cryptococcus in the province annually.
Fungal treatments are available, and medical experts do not believe it
is contagious.
"It is a rare disease here, and possibly an emerging disease," said
Leslie, who recently became an adjunct professor at Washington State
University.
The means by which cryptococcus gattii reached North America remain
unclear. Theories include a ship, a eucalyptus tree and the bottom of
someone's shoes.
Another possibility is that the fungus was long present in British
Columbia but became a threat to animals only with warmer weather, said
Stephen A. Raverty, a veterinary pathologist with the Animal Health
Center in Abbotsford, British Columbia, just north of Sumas, Wash.
"Part of the hypothesis is that because of increasing global
temperatures, the environmental conditions are better," Raverty said.
Laboratory tests indicate the fungus can reproduce in salt water, and
Raverty said porpoises likely become infected when tainted water enters
their blow holes.
Scientists are trying to determine whether the porpoises found dead in
Washington state became sick in U.S. waters or in Canada.
"It's difficult to really put this in context if there's a point source
of exposure or if there (are) multiple places where these animals are
exposed," Raverty said. "We expect the latter, though."
The Whatcom County cats all had different owners and apparently had not
been north of the border, Leslie said.
"We think the cats acquired the illness in Washington state, and that
would be a first," she said.
County Health Officer Dr. Gregory H. Stern told the Everett newspaper he
has asked local doctors to test patients with prolonged coughing, fever,
severe headaches, weight loss and night sweats, all signs of
cryptococcus gattii:.
"We don't want people to be worried about it," Stern said. "We just want
them to be prudent. If they're ill, they should get medical treatment.
Their physicians will be considering it more as a cause of illness as we
identify more cases."
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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com