Oregon Fungus Spreading South Towards California

A virulent, airborne fungus that infects both humans and animals is spreading toward California.

A new extra virulent strain of airborne fungus which infects humans and animals alike has been found in Oregon -- and it is spreading south toward California.

The fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, had been seen over the last decade causing outbreaks on Vancouver Island, Canada, and then spreading to mainland British Columbia and the United States.

The new Oregon strain, however, appears to be a sign that the fungus is evolving and adapting to local environments. That, in turn, suggests it's likely to spread to similar environments in northern California, Idaho and even parts of Nevada.

Most people infected with the fungus never develop symptoms. For those who do, the signs can appear two to several months after exposure and include a cough lasting weeks, sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.

Animals with the fungus infection have runny noses, breathing problems, nervous system problems and raised bumps under the skin.

Although the fungus is known to spread through the air, the researchers so far have been unable to track it down in nature, that is, outside of the bodies of the cats, dogs, humans and even some unlucky alpacas who have become infected.

Because so many kinds of animals are getting infected, researchers suggest that not only physicians but veterinarians should be well informed of the symptoms so they can diagnose the disease earlier and help in isolating samples and tracking the disease.

If a physician does suspects a fungus, however, they are more likely to think of C. gattii's sibling species C. neoformans, which infects a million people each year. Unlike the new Oregon fungus, however, C. neoformans attacks mostly HIV-infected people with suppressed immune systems and causes more than 620,000 deaths annually.

Courtesy : Discovery News