Friday, May 28, 2010
Killer Airborne Fungus Alert
Posted By Ryan Burns @RyanBurnsy on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 4:13 PM
A "hypervirulent" new strain of fungus has been discovered in Oregon. It is unpreventable. It is airborne. It's killing people and animals. And it's headed here.
As much as this sounds like a setup to a cornball late-night sci-fi movie, this thing is (gulp) sci-fact. It's pants-wettingly real, folks. And according to a National Geographic story from earlier this month, this sucker is sticking around.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has identified 50 cases so far -- in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to the Earthfiles story linked above. Of those, 10 have proved fatal for a 20 percent mortality rate.
Before you get too freaked out, be sure to read the quote from Dr. Joseph Heitman wherein he assesses the danger as "uncommon or rare." On the other hand, he also says this fungal assassin can travel great distances on car tires. That's some Cape Fear shit.
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About The Author
Ryan Burns
Ryan Burns worked for the Journal from 2008 to 2013, covering a diverse mix of North Coast subjects, from education, politics and marijuana to human suspension, sex parties and amateur fight contests. He won awards for investigative reporting, feature stories and news coverage.
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