Seventh Duplin resident infected with blastomycosis

[Guest guest]

http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/news/stories/10387newsstorypage.html

Seventh Duplin resident infected

By Rouch

Staff Writer

March 26, 2002

A seventh Duplin County resident has been diagnosed with blastomycosis, just

as health officials there are planning a community forum to wrap up an

investigation into the disease.

County Health Director Harrelson said the diagnosis of the 33-year-old

man was made Sunday, just two days after 82-year-old Milton Deluca died in

an acute care center after battling the illness for more than a month.

Mr. Harrelson did not know Monday afternoon whether blastomycosis has been

listed as Mr. Deluca's official cause of death. If it is, his death will be

the second death from blastomycosis in two years in Duplin County. A

45-year-old man who lived between Warsaw and Kenansville died in May from

blastomycosis. Mr. Harrelson has said he doesn't believe that death was

connected to the outbreak.

Mr. Deluca lived within what health officials had initially considered the

target area for the cluster of fungal-borne illnesses - a one-mile radius

around Warsaw's Kenan High School. Four of the victims were students

at the school.

But like the sixth victim - a 36-year-old man diagnosed earlier this month -

the latest victim lives more than a mile away from that target area, a fact

that further stymies the efforts of health officials to pinpoint the origin

of the outbreaks.

So far, officials from the state and county health departments have

investigated two construction sites at the school, a 4-acre pond near the

school, a Warsaw cemetery and a stretch of roadside dirt scraped around the

time victims began contracting the illness - around December and January. So

far, those investigations have been inconclusive.

Blastomycosis is caused by inhaling spores of a mold species known as

blastomyces dermatitidis, which is commonly found in moist, decaying plant

matter throughout the Southeast. Once contracted, blastomycosis is not

contagious. Symptoms can range from joint pain and skin legions to severe

respiratory infections. Diagnosis of blastomycosis is frequently delayed

because physicians sometimes mistake respiratory symptoms for bacterial

pneumonia.

Mr. Harrelson said even in light of this latest case, the county plans to

wrap up its investigation into the illnesses in two to three weeks. Because

officials believe the latest victim has been suffering from undiagnosed

blastomycosis since January, they do not believe his case represents a new

outbreak.

" We believe he fits within the original window of exposure and that this is

not a re-exposure, " he said.

But he also said there is no way of knowing whether there have been more

cases of blastomycosis than the seven the county knows of, because victims

of the illness are not required to notify the health department.

Mr. Harrelson said when the investigation is concluded, the county Health

Department will hold a community forum similar to the one held in February

to educate the public. He said the final forum would feature state health

officials who have interviewed patients, and maps showing the disbursement

of the cases and suspected exposure sites.

Rouch: 343-2315

victoria.rouch@...