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Gemme · 04-23-2010, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclopea

Deadly new fungus strain rolling across Northwestern U.S.

BY ETHAN SACKS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Friday, April 23rd 2010, 1:39 PM
Updated: Friday, April 23rd 2010, 2:09 PM

A mysterious new strain of airborne fungus that has mystified scientists is rolling through the Northwestern U.S. and Canada, leaving at least six people dead in its wake.

A study found that the new strain of Cryptoccus gatti, previously native to tropical and subtropical regions like Australia and South America, is spreading through Washington and Oregon and heading towards Northern California, National Geographic reported.

"The alarming thing is that it's occurring in this region, it's affecting healthy people, and geographically it's been expanding," study co-author Edmond Byrnes, a graduate student at Duke University, told the magazine.

Experts are baffled as to how the fungus reached North American and how it could survive in a colder climate.

Even more worrisome for health experts are reports that the victims had relatively healthy immune systems, according to National Geographic. Twenty one known cases have been recorded in humans, and six have been fatal.

A 1999 outbreak of a similar strain of the fungus in British Columbia, Canada, had a much lower mortality rate, killing 19 out of 218 recorded victims.

There is currently no vaccine for the fungus strain, which causes an infection which may not display symptoms -- including a bad cough and shortness of breath - until months after exposure.

"The enhanced virulence of isolates from the outbreak region, when compared with those from other regions, suggests that the genotypes circulating in the Pacific North West are inherently increased in their predilection to cause disease in mammalian hosts," the study authors wrote in the April 22 issue of the scientific journal, PLOS Pathogens.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle...#ixzz0lxuZbDQ7

Ahhhhh crap.

Medusa · 07-03-2010, 12:06 PM

A cure for HIV coming????

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100703...xMQRzZWMDeW5fY

Andrew, Jr. · 07-03-2010, 04:32 PM

Did you guys and gals read where Ossy Osbourn is being studied by the doctors in Britain and US. He agreed to it. They stated that they cannot figure out how someone who was a hard core rocker, who drank and took God knows what and for how long, is still alive at his age. It should be interesting to see what they come out with. It is going to be shown on Discovery Health Channel I believe.

07-03-2010, 12:06 PM	#2
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07-03-2010, 04:32 PM	#3
Andrew, Jr. Timed Out How Do You Identify?: Me Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Over the Rainbow in a House Posts: 5,072 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 16,004 Thanked 5,249 Times in 2,216 Posts Rep Power: 0	Did you guys and gals read where Ossy Osbourn is being studied by the doctors in Britain and US. He agreed to it. They stated that they cannot figure out how someone who was a hard core rocker, who drank and took God knows what and for how long, is still alive at his age. It should be interesting to see what they come out with. It is going to be shown on Discovery Health Channel I believe.