What the Fungus!

The other day I noticed on the front cover of "advice" publication Bottom Line: Personal a small article about an airborne fungus hitting the Pacific northwest, ranging from northern California to Washington. It has been causing respiratory problems, mainly in middle-age to elderly men (according to the Bottom Line: Personal article). And a few deaths have occurred as well. I checked this out on the Internet today and came across several articles on the subject, including this from myfoxny.com. Dr. Joseph Heitman of Duke University has been publicizing this new public health hazard and is the chief researcher. According to the Fox article, symptoms include "severe cough, shortness of breath, chest pain and severe fatigue." And possibly death, I might add.

The fungus problem is not just in the northwest, though. It has been identified in New York City as well, with a 20% fatality rate at this point there (10 out of 50 reported).

I don't know if this fungus will (or already has) spread to Florida. I do know that this pops the fantasy bubble I have been living in of seeing the northwest Pacific area as a kind of paradise with its year-round temperate climate, so conducive to outdoor activity (especially long-distance running). After all, this is "Karno country" (Karno is ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes, who lives in San Francisco). I suppose, though, that every area carries its own drawbacks. Although I don't exactly see developing pneumonia-like symptoms from breathing in fungus in the great outdoors as your typical regional "drawback".

I would hate to see this fungus spread further. Since it had only been discovered in 2005, though, little is still known about it, its growth pattern, and range. This could be an escalating national health concern. I think from time to time I may just type in "fungus heitman" on my Google to see the latest developments on this ominous ongoing news story.