Duplin County residents treated for fungal infection at PCMH

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Duplin County residents treated for fungal infection at PCMH

Staff, wire reports

Three Duplin County residents - including two teen-agers - have been

hospitalized and treated at Pitt County Memorial Hospital for a serious

infection caused by a common fungus that rarely causes illness in humans.

The two Kenan High School students and an elderly man who lives near

the school were diagnosed with blastomycosis in their lungs, Duplin County

health director Harrelson said Monday.

The fungus typically impacts farmers, hunters and outdoorsmen along with

canines which are equally prone to the disease, Dr. Jeffery Engel, an

infectious diseases specialist with the Brody School of Medicine at East

Carolina University, said.

" We've had clusters in the past, " he said.

A cluster includes three or more people contracting the inhaled form of the

fungus spores in a single geographical area within a few weeks, officials

said. The lung infection is not spread from person to person, Engel said.

Many people get flu-like symptoms and get over it, but about 10 percent of

patients develop more serious problems and require hospitalization, Engel

said. It can become fatal if treatments fail, he said.

Symptoms including cough, muscle aches, chills and fever can develop weeks

after exposure. In some people, symptoms go away naturally, while others may

have a tougher time fighting the infection.

" We see it every year here; it's endemic and common in eastern North

Carolina, " Engel said.

The last occurrence of a blastomycosis cluster of this magnitude in North

Carolina was about 15 to 20 years ago in Halifax County, Bill Furney, a

spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said.

One of the students treated at PCMH responded to antibiotics and has

returned to school, according to Kenan principal Dora Jernigan. The

conditions of the other two were not available on Tuesday.

Blastomycosis is not contagious. Antibiotics is the recommended treatment

and is usually effective, but a fungal respiratory infection can be fatal if

not treated properly.

There are two more suspected cases of blastomycosis in Duplin County

involving humans, while veterinarians reported four cases of blastomycosis

in dogs, Harrelson said. Pitt County has not had any known cases reported,

Engel said.

The fungus is found in moist soil mixed with rotting plant matter.

" Fungus needs fuel to grow, " Engel said.

Harrelson said health officials are performing an environmental assessment

to determine the source of the fungus.

Since the disease's incubation period is 45 days and the first patient noted

symptoms in mid-December, the cause may no longer exists, Harrelson said.