- VICTORIA - Health authorities
in British Columbia are baffled, trying to find the source of an outbreak
of a deadly fungus that has killed four people.
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- It's called cryptococcus neoforman and it causes crytococcal
disease which attacks the respiratory and central nervous systems. There
are at least 25 cases on Vancouver Island, five times the normal rate of
infection.
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- Authorities have issued a public health warning telling
people to stay away from pigeons, rotting trees and dust. Doctors commonly
see cryptoccal disease in patients with HIV or weak immune systems. B.C.'s
Centre for Disease Control many of the new patients are otherwise healthy.
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- The fungus thrives in rotting trees and in tropical ones
such as fig, eucalyptus and almond which grow on the island.
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- "Normally, we'd expect three cases of this disease.
We've got 25, so yes we've got an excess, a bit of an outbreak," says
epidemiologist Marty Pearce who studies the cause and distribution of diseases.
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- Pearce and other officials just can't figure out how
it's being spread.
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- They believe pigeon droppings may have played a role.
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- When the fungus spores in dried pigeon droppings get
into the air and get into lungs they multiply, causing the disease. The
symptoms are similar to a cold and often go untreated.
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- Symptoms of crytococcal disease -
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- * fever* headache* vomiting* dizziness* fever* chills*
chest pain* confusion * dementia
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- Epidemiologists have issued a public health warning
telling people to stay away from pigeons, rotting trees and dust. They're
warning physicians to be on the lookout for the signs.
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- They are reviewing each case, trying to pinpoint any
one source of the fungus.
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- "That's the kind of the the game we play. We're
trying to do a bit of detective work find out what people were doing where
there common exposures might have occurred," says Pearce.
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- Written by CBC News Online staff
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