Ore. DHS questions article statements about deadly fungus
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Oregon Department of Human Services disputed some statements in an MSNBC.com article Thursday about the deadliness of a fungus.
The article entitled “Deadly airborne fungus in Oregon set to spread” says that a new strain of fungus – VGIIc Cryptococcus gattii - is spreading in the state of Oregon and has killed about 1 in 4 people who have been infected.
It quotes a Duke University researcher by the name of Edmond Byrnes III: “This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people. Typically, we more often see this fungal disease associated with transplant recipients and HIV-infected patients, but that is not what we are seeing yet.”
Patty Wentz, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, said that is just plain wrong.
“It’s a very rare disease,” she said Thursday evening. “It does not affect otherwise healthy people. It affects people who are already ill from other causes like respiratory disease, asthma and transplant patients.”
She stressed that it is a “very, very rare” disease.
She said Oregon is participating in a three-state survey that is gathering data about the illness caused by the fungus, but the state is not close to having any data.
The state also does not have a death rate or number of deaths related to the fungus. Wentz said it is too early to have those numbers.