Guest guest Posted June 10, 2005 Report Share Posted June 10, 2005 Infection warning spreads north http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm? newsid=14664272 & BRD=1998 & PAG=461 & dept_id=221589 & rfi=6 Walz, Peak Editor 06/08/2005 With one case of fungal infection on the lower Sunshine Coast, River doctors are on the lookout for symptoms especially among the elderly A fungal infection previously found only on the east coast of Vancouver Island has now spread to the Sunshine Coast, Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) issued a notice last week that cryptococcal disease was identified in three people and six domestic animals living in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health regions. Since 1999, there have been 129 cases, resulting in four deaths among residents or visitors to Vancouver Island. Dr. Martiquet, medical health officer for the Sunshine Coast, River and Sea-to-Sky corridor, confirmed there has been one case of the disease on the lower Sunshine Coast. Martiquet said the person who contracted the disease didn't travel to Vancouver Island, which makes him believe the fungus could be in the River area as well. " I have informed River doctors to keep an eye out for any chronic pneumonia or lung infection that they're unsure about, " he said. " There is a blood test and a culture that you can do to determine the Cryptococcus and there's treatment as well. " According to the BCCDC, a great majority of the time, exposure to the fungus results in no symptoms or illness. Infection occasionally occurs leading to disease of the lungs (pneumonia) or the nervous system (meningitis) in both humans and animals. People over the age of 60 are at a greater risk for infection. Symptoms of cryptococcal infection in humans include prolonged cough (lasting weeks or months), sharp chest pain, unexplained shortness of breath, weight loss, undiagnosed fever, night sweats, and severe headache. Symptoms in animals range from runny noses and lumps under the skin to fatal infections of the lungs or nervous system. Cryptococcus gattii, the fungus that causes cryptococcal disease, occurs naturally in the environment, on trees and in the soil. Cryptococcal disease can only be acquired by breathing in fungal spores that are present in the air. It can not be transmitted from person to person or from animals to people. ©The River Peak 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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