CDC to help investigate Marathon County blasto outbreakhttp://www.wsau.com/news/articles/2010/jun/04/cdc-help-investigate-marathon-county-blasto-outbre/WSAU.com
Federal scientists will help Marathon County health officials investigate an outbreak of blastomycosis.
One to three scientists from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention will travel to Wisconsin in the next couple weeks to study why the fungus is still causing people to get sick.
The county health department reported 19 cases between January and the end of March. Thirteen more people have come down with the disease since then, said epidemiologist Ruth Marx. She said they are averaging about one case a week.
Marx said the blasto cases do not fit the normal profile. She said more women and younger people than usual have contracted the illness. Health officials have also noticed clusters of cases that are limited to different geographical areas.
Blasto outbreaks usually happen in the spring and fall and symptoms take about one to three months to develop. But Marx said some of the people who have blasto got it during the winter.
Blastomycosis, which is caused by the blastomyces fungus, causes respiratory problems like pneumonia and other lung conditions.
Symptoms include fever and dry cough which may lead to weight loss, chest pain and a persistent cough with thick spit. Other symptoms may include muscle aches, night sweats and shortness of breath.
The fungus grows in nature and is more frequently found in acidic, sandy soils; decaying wood and other vegetation, and by waterways with fluctuating water levels.
