Fungal Fright: Killer Spores

In preparation for Thursday's post-- I did a quick Google University search for "deadly fungus" and up came Cryptococcus-- again. I first blogged about this fungus here.

The interesting thing about fungal infections is that they are like the unwanted orphans of pathogens. Their infections can take a while to manifest and be equally as difficult to treat-- often requiring months of anti-fungal therapy.

I first blogged about Cryptococcus two years ago but have you even heard of it? The reason bacteria and viral infections get much more press is that they tend to spread and manifest much more quickly-- thereby meeting our need for instant gratification. We'll know, likely within a few weeks, whether you're going to live or die.

Not so much with a fungal infection.

A person gets infected by cryptococcus by directly inhaling the spores. There are two species that are responsible for MOST human infections. C. neoformans, found in the soil, generally infects people with weakened immune systems like those with the HIV virus. The other, C. gattii, affects more healthy populations.

What's interesting is that these fungus spores are continuing to spread along the western sea board. Compared to when I first wrote about this infection, the death rate has risen to about 33% from 25%. What's more interesting is that the same fungal infection for Canadians only has a death rate of about 10%.

It makes me wonder if the difference in geography plays into the host, the fungus, and/or the ability to fight the infection. All good plot points for a medical thriller.

Treatment is antifungal medications for many months but if these prove inneffective then surgery may be required.

What about you? Have you heard of this deadly spore?

You can check out the following links if you want to read more about Cryptococcus and these links are also where I got the information for this post.

http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2013/05/28/cryptococcus_spread_of_a_deadly_fungus_106543.html

http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/cryptococcosis-gattii/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20570552

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2669189/

Winner!!

Just a quick post on this happy Monday to announce the winner of the Who Will Survive The Zombie Apocalypse Contest-- or at least have fun trying whilst reading a copy of either Proof or Poison.

The winner is: Audrey Allyn Reilly!!

Audrey-- e-mail me at jredwood1(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll tell you how to claim your prize.

Thanks for playing everyone. It was fun to see your percentages. I'm not sure I'll be hanging with those of you who scored under 65%-- you might have to fight those zombies off on your own. Now-- as Crystal said-- time to stock up on canned foods and weapons.

Up and Coming

Hello Redwood's Fans!

Our group hitting a rock.

How has your summer been? Ours-- very busy. For the first time since living in Colorado for almost seven years we finally braved the wilderness and took our two daughters camping-- twice. I know some of you may not think this is a major miracle-- but it is.

It's not that I don't enjoy camping-- I really do. Nighttime-- not so much. It just gets too cold. Of late, I've resorted to boiling hot water and putting it into water bottles and lining my sleeping bag with four or five of them. Even with that and wearing three layers it is hard to stay warm.

If anyone knows of an electric sleeping bag-- let me know.

Then going backwards!

One of my favorite activities is to go white water rafting and this year we decided to torture-- I mean-- let our children experience this fun adventure.

And yes-- I am in this boat!

For you this week:

All is right again!

Monday: Winner announced. Have you taken the Zombie Apocalypse Quiz yet? Check out this post for a chance to win Proof or Poison for details.

Tuesday: Fungal Fright: What is cryptococcus and just how deadly is it?

Thursday: Fungal Fright: The medical thriller Spiral by Paul McEuen.

Hope you have a great week!

Author Question: Fever Reduction in Unconscious Patient

Alyssa Asks:

One of my characters has a high fever. I know that there are several different herbs that can help to reduce fevers, but he is unconscious. What might the healer do to help him?

Jordyn Says:

Obviously it's hard to get an unconscious person to ingest something.

You're writing medieval times?

If a person can't swallow but you want to reduce a fever-- you can strip their clothing off and put them in tepid to cool water. This should help bring down their body temperature.


Depending on your time era-- medications can also be given rectally or intravenously. For instance, acetaminophen (commonly known as Tylenol) can be give rectally.


NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can be given IV and are fever reducers though this is not the primary reason to give an NSAID IV. Most common reason if for pain.