Re: Fungal Infection Appears Common Among Urban Kids

[Guest guest]

WebMD should do an article on chemtrailcoccal infections.

Barth

TOXIC MOLD SURVEY: www.presenting.net/sbs/sbssurvey.html

---

t> Fungal Infection Appears Common Among Urban Kids

t> http://my.webmd.com/content/article/32/1728_79425.htm

t> By Salynn Boyles

t> WebMD Medical News Archive  Reviewed By Dr. Tonja Wynn Hampton 

t> May 10, 2001 -- Most city dwellers have strong opinions about

t> pigeons. Some see them as harmless, flying urban friends, while to

t> others they are the equivalent of rats with wings.

t> But are they a hazard to human health?

t> Breathing air contaminated with pigeon droppings is believed to be

t> responsible for the most common central nervous system disease among

t> patients with AIDS. Now a study from New York suggests the fungal

t> infection responsible for the disease is common among healthy

t> children living in urban areas.

t> After conducting a special blood test, researchers from the Albert

t> Einstein College of Medicine found that 70% of tested children over

t> the age of 5 had been infected with the fungus Cryptococcus

t> neoformans, and over half of those as young as age 2 had been

t> infected. It is not yet clear whether people who do not live in

t> cities have the same level of exposure, they say, or if healthy

t> people whose immune systems are not compromised -- as is the case

t> with AIDS patients -- develop infection-related illnesses.

t> " We were very surprised to find that cryptococcal exposure was so

t> high in these children, " study author L. Goldman, MD, tells

t> WebMD. " At least in urban areas like the Bronx, exposure appears to

t> occur very early in life, and it is probably associated with signs

t> and symptoms we haven't identified yet. " Goldman is an associate

t> professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

t> If the fungal infection does cause illness among otherwise healthy

t> people, it is likely that the symptoms are being blamed on something

t> else, Goldman says.

t> " Children with this infection, for example, could possibly develop

t> flu-like symptoms that a doctor might assume to be a virus, " he

t> says. " Again, we don't know yet what symptoms are associated with

t> this infection, or if there are any symptoms associated with it.

t> Those studies have not been done. "

t> Fungal specialist Guadalupe Reyes, PhD, of Cleveland's Case Western

t> Reserve University Center for Medical Mycology, says it is possible

t> that fungus-related infections do cause unrecognized illnesses among

t> children and adults with healthy immune systems. She says failure to

t> recognize fungal infection is a common and serious problem among

t> patients whose immune systems are compromised.

t> " This infection is very easy to diagnose, but doctors often don't

t> think about fungi, " she says. " Patients are given antibiotics, which

t> obviously don't work, because they have a fungal infection, [not a

t> bacterial infection]. "

t> In the study, published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics,

t> blood samples from 185 children from the Bronx who ranged in age from

t> 1 week to 21 years were evaluated for C. neoformans infection. Few

t> children under the age of 2 had been infected, but 56% of those

t> between the ages of 2 and 5 carried the infection. Antibodies for the

t> infection were found to persist throughout childhood, suggesting that

t> reinfection might be common.

t> " We don't know the long-term consequences of infection, but it is

t> clear form our findings that many children are being exposed, making

t> the infection a potential cause of common childhood disease, " Goldman

t> says. " Our goal now is to learn what occurs in instances of acute

t> infection and to identify ways to combat it. "

t> The findings could have implications for those trying to develop a

t> vaccine designed to prevent infection with C. neoformans. It has been

t> suggested that such a vaccine could prevent the life-threatening

t> diseases associated with infection in AIDS patients and others with

t> compromised immune systems.

t> " If, as our study indicates, most people are already infected at a

t> very early age, then a vaccine approach to preventing infection

t> probably won't work, " Goldman says.

t> FAIR USE NOTICE:

t> This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been

specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material

available in our efforts to advance

t> understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy,

scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair

use' of any such copyrighted material

t> as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with

Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior

t> interest in receiving the included information for research and educational

purposes. For more information go to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted

t> material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use',

you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

t>

[Guest guest]

WebMD should do an article on chemtrailcoccal infections.

Barth

TOXIC MOLD SURVEY: www.presenting.net/sbs/sbssurvey.html

---

t> Fungal Infection Appears Common Among Urban Kids

t> http://my.webmd.com/content/article/32/1728_79425.htm

t> By Salynn Boyles

t> WebMD Medical News Archive  Reviewed By Dr. Tonja Wynn Hampton 

t> May 10, 2001 -- Most city dwellers have strong opinions about

t> pigeons. Some see them as harmless, flying urban friends, while to

t> others they are the equivalent of rats with wings.

t> But are they a hazard to human health?

t> Breathing air contaminated with pigeon droppings is believed to be

t> responsible for the most common central nervous system disease among

t> patients with AIDS. Now a study from New York suggests the fungal

t> infection responsible for the disease is common among healthy

t> children living in urban areas.

t> After conducting a special blood test, researchers from the Albert

t> Einstein College of Medicine found that 70% of tested children over

t> the age of 5 had been infected with the fungus Cryptococcus

t> neoformans, and over half of those as young as age 2 had been

t> infected. It is not yet clear whether people who do not live in

t> cities have the same level of exposure, they say, or if healthy

t> people whose immune systems are not compromised -- as is the case

t> with AIDS patients -- develop infection-related illnesses.

t> " We were very surprised to find that cryptococcal exposure was so

t> high in these children, " study author L. Goldman, MD, tells

t> WebMD. " At least in urban areas like the Bronx, exposure appears to

t> occur very early in life, and it is probably associated with signs

t> and symptoms we haven't identified yet. " Goldman is an associate

t> professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

t> If the fungal infection does cause illness among otherwise healthy

t> people, it is likely that the symptoms are being blamed on something

t> else, Goldman says.

t> " Children with this infection, for example, could possibly develop

t> flu-like symptoms that a doctor might assume to be a virus, " he

t> says. " Again, we don't know yet what symptoms are associated with

t> this infection, or if there are any symptoms associated with it.

t> Those studies have not been done. "

t> Fungal specialist Guadalupe Reyes, PhD, of Cleveland's Case Western

t> Reserve University Center for Medical Mycology, says it is possible

t> that fungus-related infections do cause unrecognized illnesses among

t> children and adults with healthy immune systems. She says failure to

t> recognize fungal infection is a common and serious problem among

t> patients whose immune systems are compromised.

t> " This infection is very easy to diagnose, but doctors often don't

t> think about fungi, " she says. " Patients are given antibiotics, which

t> obviously don't work, because they have a fungal infection, [not a

t> bacterial infection]. "

t> In the study, published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics,

t> blood samples from 185 children from the Bronx who ranged in age from

t> 1 week to 21 years were evaluated for C. neoformans infection. Few

t> children under the age of 2 had been infected, but 56% of those

t> between the ages of 2 and 5 carried the infection. Antibodies for the

t> infection were found to persist throughout childhood, suggesting that

t> reinfection might be common.

t> " We don't know the long-term consequences of infection, but it is

t> clear form our findings that many children are being exposed, making

t> the infection a potential cause of common childhood disease, " Goldman

t> says. " Our goal now is to learn what occurs in instances of acute

t> infection and to identify ways to combat it. "

t> The findings could have implications for those trying to develop a

t> vaccine designed to prevent infection with C. neoformans. It has been

t> suggested that such a vaccine could prevent the life-threatening

t> diseases associated with infection in AIDS patients and others with

t> compromised immune systems.

t> " If, as our study indicates, most people are already infected at a

t> very early age, then a vaccine approach to preventing infection

t> probably won't work, " Goldman says.

t> FAIR USE NOTICE:

t> This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been

specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material

available in our efforts to advance

t> understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy,

scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair

use' of any such copyrighted material

t> as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with

Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without

profit to those who have expressed a prior

t> interest in receiving the included information for research and educational

purposes. For more information go to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted

t> material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use',

you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

t>