Alert – Blastomycosis…a disease caused by mold that’s a human pathogen, has recently been in the news here in Canada lately.

Alert – Blastomycosis…a disease caused by mold that’s a human pathogen, has recently been in the news here in Canada lately. Please read the following;

Hearst, Ontario Occurance – 2023

“A coroner’s jury has heard testimony that members of Constance Lake First Nation continue to live under the threat of a fungal lung disease, four years after an outbreak of blastomycosis claimed five lives in the community near Hearst, Ontario. But it also heard about the dogged efforts of one environmental group to continue to track and learn about the conditions that create the mold spores that cause the disease. An inquest is looking at the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Luke Moore, Lorraine Shaganash, Lizzie Sutherland, Mark Ferris and Douglas Taylor due to blastomycosis.”

 Method of Transmission

Inhalation of aerosolized fungal spores represents the primary mode of transmission. Exposure may follow outdoor activities that disturb soil, which is warm, moist, acidic and rich in organic debris, particularly within forested areas and in proximity to waterways. Blastomycosis is endemic to several parts of Canada, but is only reportable in Ontario and Manitoba, with Northwestern Ontario being considered a hyperendemic area with average annual incidence rates of over 25 cases per 100,000 population. Delays in diagnosis and treatment are frequently observed as the symptoms and imaging findings of blastomycosis may initially be mistaken for community-acquired pneumonia, tuberculosis or malignancy, which can result in interim disease progression and worsening clinical outcomes. Risks from mold and fungal infections such as blastomycosis are likely to increase with climate change-associated shifts in temperature and rainfall, and this may contribute to the geographic expansion of cases, a phenomenon that appears to be already underway. Further research investigating the ecological niche of Blastomyces and its climate sensitivity could help facilitate better modelling of the potential impacts of climate change on risks to Canadians and inform more effective methods of exposure prevention. Early clinical recognition and treatment of blastomycosis remain the key to minimizing morbidity and mortality.

Lifecycle

Blastomyces lives in the environment as a mold that produces fungal spores. The spores are too small to see without a microscope. When soil or plant material is disturbed, the tiny spores can be released into the air. When people or animals breathe in the spores, they are at risk for developing blastomycosis. After the spores enter the lungs, the body temperature allows the spores to transform into yeast. The yeast can stay in the lungs or spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, such as the skin, bones and joints, organs, and central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)

The mold lives in the environment in moist soil and decomposing plant matter like wood and leaves. About half of people who breathe in Blastomyces do not get blastomycosis.

The mold lives in Canada and a small number of blastomycosis cases have been reported from Africa and India. In the United States, the mold mainly lives in the midwestern, south-central, and southeastern states. It is most common around the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, Great Lakes, Saint Lawrence River, and western United States.

Symptoms

Blastomycosis symptoms often resemble the flu and can include fever, shortness of breath, cough, fatigue and joint and muscle pain. Some people may have no symptoms at all, while others can develop skin lesions like red bumps, warts, or ulcers on the face and limbs. Symptoms typically appear between three weeks and three months after exposure to the fungus

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