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Blastomycosis - Wisconsin - Merrill Teenager Dies Of Uncommon Fungal Infection
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Merrill Teenager Dies Of Uncommon Fungal Infection
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(AP) MERRILL, WI A 16-year-old girl died of a rare fungal infection that has sickened six others in Lincoln County, and state and local health officials are investigating the source of the illness, authorities say.
They said Tristan Muenchow, a junior at Merrill High School, died Feb. 14 from blastomycosis.
Lincoln County has historically reported a large number of cases of the disease and seems to be experiencing more than the usual number of cases for this time of year, Shelley Hersil, director of the county Health Department, said Tuesday.
According to Wisconsin health officials, the state typically experiences about 100 cases of blastomycosis a year. Between 2000 and 2004, Lincoln County had the most cases, 45, followed by Milwaukee County, 40, and Marathon County, 36.
The disease has also been reported in Marathon and Sawyer counties so far this year, health officials said.
Blastomycosis is an uncommon but potentially fatal fungal infection in humans that primarily affects the lungs and skin. Officials said it cannot be transmitted from person to person.
People develop the disorder by inhaling spores from a fungus that grows in soil containing decomposing organic material, such as leaves, authorities said. It can take as long as three months for a person to develop symptoms, which include fever, acute lung infection, weight loss, chest pain, muscle aches and skin rash.
Once the spores enter the lungs, they form a yeast that infects the lungs and can cause pneumonia, said Dr. Todd Stewart, a pediatric intensive care physician at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. The disease is treated with anti-fungal medications.
Merrill Teenager Dies Of Uncommon Fungal Infection
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Save It </DT><DT minmax_bound="true"> Email It </DT><DT minmax_bound="true"> Print It </DT></DL>(AP) MERRILL, WI A 16-year-old girl died of a rare fungal infection that has sickened six others in Lincoln County, and state and local health officials are investigating the source of the illness, authorities say.
They said Tristan Muenchow, a junior at Merrill High School, died Feb. 14 from blastomycosis.
Lincoln County has historically reported a large number of cases of the disease and seems to be experiencing more than the usual number of cases for this time of year, Shelley Hersil, director of the county Health Department, said Tuesday.
According to Wisconsin health officials, the state typically experiences about 100 cases of blastomycosis a year. Between 2000 and 2004, Lincoln County had the most cases, 45, followed by Milwaukee County, 40, and Marathon County, 36.
The disease has also been reported in Marathon and Sawyer counties so far this year, health officials said.
Blastomycosis is an uncommon but potentially fatal fungal infection in humans that primarily affects the lungs and skin. Officials said it cannot be transmitted from person to person.
People develop the disorder by inhaling spores from a fungus that grows in soil containing decomposing organic material, such as leaves, authorities said. It can take as long as three months for a person to develop symptoms, which include fever, acute lung infection, weight loss, chest pain, muscle aches and skin rash.
Once the spores enter the lungs, they form a yeast that infects the lungs and can cause pneumonia, said Dr. Todd Stewart, a pediatric intensive care physician at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. The disease is treated with anti-fungal medications.