Aggressive fungus strikes Joplin tornado victims

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A Joplin doctor said Thursday his hospital treated five Joplin tornado victims for a rare, aggressive fungal infection sometimes found in survivors of other natural disasters.

Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious disease specialist at Freeman Health System in Joplin, said three of those patients who contracted zygomycosis have since died, but he stopped short of blaming their deaths specifically on the infections.

"These people had multiple traumas, pneumonia, all kinds of problems," Schmidt said. "It's difficult to say how much the fungal infections contributed to their demise."

Jacqueline Lapine, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the department has received reports of eight suspected deep-skin fungal infections among victims of the tornado. She said all of the victims had sustained trauma from the tornado with multiple injuries and secondary wound infections.

These people had multiple traumas, pneumonia, all kinds of problems,” Schmidt said. “It’s difficult to say how much the fungal infections contributed to their demise.”
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I don’t see why it’s difficult. These people would be alive today had not the Tornado struck, why is it difficult to say the Tornado and it’s after effects killed them.

I’m not surprised.

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Fungus also likes bacteria. Well at least some do.

I had cellulits twice last year, the first time I was in the hospital for a week, the second for two weeks.

The day before I got released the first time they put an Unna boot on my leg. The compression helped with the pain.

A week later I went to the wound care nurse to have it removed. It was nasty to say the least. The gauze was imbedded in some areas. It was waxy from the fluids and I had black spots all over. She had to use a thin knife to cut it away. Some wouldn’t come off so she put some stuff on it to soften it up and put another wrap on it and I had to come back the next week. Actually had to do this two more times before it was all gone.

She said she wished she had thought to take pictures before she started because she had never seen anything like it before. She told me it was fungus
(not sure what kind) and it loved the bacteria that caused the infection.

I know the cellulitis will come back, just a matter of when and if the vancomycin will still work. I fear I will get VRSA eventually. Hope the fungus won’t come back with it.

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