by Shirley Love

Created on: May 16, 2010

I recall a commercial from a couple of decades ago that warned us that “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!”  I would like to add to that catch phrase, and issue an even more dangerous warning when I say, ”It’s not nice to fool around with Mother Nature!”

God gave us a clean planet with pristine sweet water; clear, blue, unpolluted skies; and unscathed forests.  He gave us valleys and flat lands where the soil was so fertile that a carelessly tossed seed would grow into a plant or tree with little help from mankind.

Then, he made us stewards of that planet, to work along with Mother Nature and to keep it clean and beautiful for the future generations.  So, what did we do to it?  

We built factories that belched chemicals and irritating smoke into the air; we dumped the residue of garbage and slops into the once clean waters; we burned the rain forests and cleared the mountain ranges from the foliage and trees in the greedy rush for more land; and we despoiled God’s gift and stirred up all kinds of illness and disease in the process.

And now, we are being introduced to the newest member of this cast.  It is an airborne fungus called Cryptococcus gattii, or C. gatti, and it can be deadly.  This strain is acting a little differently from earlier strains due to the fact that it is attacking otherwise healthy people. There is no way to prevent it, since it is airborne and inhaled.

This species is native to tropical and subtropical regions such as New Guinea, Australia, and parts of South America however it is now in the United States, and it has adapted to a very different climate than the original strain.

The outbreak has already killed six people in Oregon, that is 25% of those infected, and has moved into California and Idaho at last reports. The organism also attacks animals, but cannot be transmitted from person to person.

Fungal diseases are less common than viral or bacterial diseases, but what makes them unusual is that they reproduce because they have sex!  That means each offspring comes from a new combination of genes.  Although there is treatment through antibiotics, you need to be diagnosed in the early stages.  The antibiotic of today may not work on a newer strain because of the changes in the DNA.

There are several symptoms to watch for and they include: severe headache, chills, fever, cough, night sweats, weight loss, and shortness of breath.  Since these symptoms

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