TORONTO -- A community in Northern Ontario is dealing with a probable outbreak of blastomycosis, a lung infection caused by breathing in mould and fungi found in the wilderness.
In a Facebook Live announcement, Constance Lake First Nation Chief Ramona Sutherland said that at least 11 people were suffering from the serious lung infection. Indigenous Services Canada is working with the first nation and Porcupine Public Heath Unit to identify and address community needs.
Officials are inspecting sites in the community identified by Constance Lake First Nation Leadership. Laboratory samples are being conducted to determine the mould and fungi.
But where does blastomycosis come from and how does it spread? We put our questions to Dr. Anna Banerji, associate professor of pediatrics and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
What is Blastomycosis?
It鈥檚 called a dimorphic fungus, which means that in most places it鈥檚 mould but when it goes into the body at human temperatures it turns into a little yeast bud. So it鈥檚 not that common, and most people who get it, it looks like they have a pneumonia. If it鈥檚 diagnosed in time you can treat it with an anti-fungal and people will be fine. But I think the harder part is making that diagnosis.
Why is it hard to diagnose?
It鈥檚 not that common and most people who get blastomycosis, they often don鈥檛 get the diagnosis until later. Sometimes they have findings in a chest X-ray and they think, 鈥榃ell, could this be Tuberculosis? 鈥� Could this be cancer or something else?鈥�
You could do blood tests to see if someone has antibodies against it, you can do a biopsy. It can go to any part of the body and sometimes it might go to the skin and you can take a specimen from the skin and you can identify the fungus.
Are outbreaks common? Where is it found?
Outbreaks are still pretty rare. It does occur in scattered areas of the north.
What is the source of this mould and where is it found?
It鈥檚 a mould out in the community, where it tends to occur is in decaying matter, so wood piles typically. So if there might be blastomycosis there it鈥檚 in a pile of wood that is decaying, someone moves it or things are moved around and it gets aerosolized.
How would an outbreak begin?
Usually the outbreaks occur when there鈥檚 a bunch of people and they鈥檙e moving the wood, and there鈥檚 blastomycosis there, and they鈥檙e all exposed at the same time or a similar time.
Is this transmissible person to person?
It鈥檚 a yeast in the body at temperature and that yeast is not transmissible to other people, so you can鈥檛 get it by them coughing, you can鈥檛 get it in the same room as them. It鈥檚 really only from the environment where it鈥檚 a mould, and the mould forms spores, and it鈥檚 by inhaling those spores that it can grow and change to the yeast form in the body.
So the mould is outside?
It鈥檚 usually outside in wood. It鈥檚 not the same as the black mould you see in housing complexes. Most people are not at risk; it鈥檚 usually from an event that occurred outside. The incubation period is like a month to a couple months, so it鈥檚 usually something that occurred a week or months ago, they were moving something like decayed logs out of the way, a bunch of people are exposed and then within the month people start having symptoms.
Is this easily treated?
If you get it in time it鈥檚 an anti-fungal; you take it by mouth, it鈥檚 curative. So you just have to make sure you diagnosis quickly and treat people quickly.
If this is not easily diagnosed, would that explain a larger outbreak?
It鈥檚 not an easy diagnosis to make outside of an outbreak.
