Deadly Fungus Strikes Joplin Tornado Survivors, Volunteers

reply to post by loam


quote
"Others with wounds near the head weren't so lucky -- as soon as brain tissue started dying, it was too late "
unquote

"as soon as brain tissue started dying"

ok seriously i know it's serious, but are we talking zombies? cause,, ok i don't like zombies.

Was it just me??

This week is the tell all concerning this fungi outbreak in Joplin...............I live here and have been watching the issue closely.............

This article just popped up from the St Louis Beacon

Evedently there have been many samples sent to the state for testing.............Nine cases have been confirmed thus far........As you can see in the quoted comment by Dr. Benjamin Park, an epidemiologist at the CDC, the number could be very high........

Thats concerning...........

"Unfortunately, we don't keep track of this infection," he told the Beacon. "There aren't really good estimates of how prevalent it is, but what we can say is that we do know that this infection is quite rare. A large hospital might only see a handful of these infections in an entire year."

Having a "cluster of suspected zygomycosis infections after a natural disaster is quite unusual. It's not something that we usually see."

He stressed that all the samples from Joplin remain "suspected cases at this point, but if they are confirmed, it is a high number."

i have over 25 years experience in the construction industry. dry rot,wet rot,fungus,spores,
i have just about met them all. i was knocked on my butt for 6 months by a large spore
producing flesh coloured cabbage in the late eighties and i can say it was a nasty one that
was hidden in a ceiling void growing on a joist.
the proliferation of these spores could be from a proportion of the timber framed/plasterboard lined
structures that were destroyed. these critters happily thrive in voids within partitions and cavities
in the structure of buildings. a cold and warm front (internal and external temperatures)where
condensation can occur is the ideal environment for the spores to multiply. this term (uk) is a cold-bridge.
it was stated that this material comes from the ground, however it is not uncommon for similar
spores to thrive on plasterboard that has both surfaces exposed to fluctuating temperatures/moisture content
within a dwelling. modern breathable membranes and vapour barriers can mitigate the spread and growth
of these critters but for those buildings with inadequate ventilation it can be a huge problem.
it could be said that you could live quite happily inside a building riddled with spores as long as
they are hindered from entering the living areas. once these spores are exposed to the environment,
they quickly dry and become airborne. this by no means diminishes it's toxicity.
i have not come across spores that are that dangerous, amputation is required and my thoughts go out to
those affected. the above should be considered at the very least.
f

Things are not looking very bright in Joplin.

Two teams from CDC have arrived in Joplin and Springfield due to the fungal outbreak. I personally talked to a contact I have with the CDC and 22 cases are being reported of having the zygomoycosis fungi as of Monday.

One of my employees was told by her doctor Monday that she has pulmonary zygomoycosis. The survival rate is less than 20% for those affected in the respiratory system. She is very ill and we are attempting to get her help.

It is being reported that one resident died due to flesh eating bacteria………….but this could have been the fungi zygomoycosis…..

The biggest concern is the number of volunteers who have returned to their home towns.

Those who will develop pulmonary zygomoycosis should become symptomatic 2 to 3 weeks after exposure.

Cultures do not always grow when attempting to diagnosis this particular fungus. A CT scan is a must when involving the respiratory system……again the fatality rate is 87% for pulmonary zygomoycosis.

Access Care Medical Clinic in Joplin is reporting a high number of respiratory and pneumonia symptomatic patients as of last week.

It looks like our nightmare is only beginning………………

Sorry about that Loam I had started another thread on this topic, but will include one of my more personal posts from that thread...

My personal note to all of our friends and neighbors in Joplin and surrounding areas including the path of the storms and gusts which were reported at the time of tornadoes to be in excess of 200mph, is to pump your immune systems now! To begin taking extra precaution to avoid anything which is known to compromise the immune system. To get yourself and your loved ones on an Alkaline diet is one of the most important first steps towards protecting yourselves.

Here is one quick google search but there are many even a few threads here devoted to the subject.
www.energiseforlife.com...

My personal suggestions would also include staying on top of any health related issues you may just pass off at this time of as a "summer cold" or other "allergy" related seasonal symptoms.

I also know of one very intense anti fungal which is very expensive but could possibly be used prolifically to combat any possible growth of fungus in your system it is called Diflucan.

Also, as soon as you finish reading 'this' last suggestion I urge you to go do it immediately!

Begin snorting organic sea salt several times a day. Keep your nasal passages clean and clear!!!

Now, I have received information from one of our members who has been on the scene since day one and without giving away private correspondence he will hopefully come on board and keep us abreast of the latest news and his personal views and experiences.

In the meantime, if we put our collective best foot forward we just may be able to help the people of Joplin before its too late.

Thank you in advance.

Here's that link on the alkaline diet:
www.energiseforlife.com...

Here is some anti fungal home remedies which most of you will often have on hand now, also it never hurts to brush up on some of these basics for times like these.

www.candida-cure-recipes.com...

More info in this duplicate thread, now closed.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


So this thread is still open.

I read it wrong, and I was bouncing back and forth between the two threads thinking both were closed. DUH!

I meant to post something up about this a week ago, but I'm glad I didn't because this information is way better. The information I had a week ago came from an emergency room visit my brother had to make. He was bitten by a brown recluse spider on his calf. While he was in the emergency room, there were 5 other spider bite victims there at the same time, and the doctor told him there was a big outbreak of poisonous spider bites. On top of that, the news was just breaking about the fungus taking hold, and the air quality in Joplin is horrible right now, because of the construction work, heavy equipment, and debris!

Talk about Armageddon ! Destruction, Pestilence, and Plague!

ETA: For you survival forum buffs, I tried to get my brother to use his wife's tazer on the spider bite, and he won't do it. I really wanted to see if it would work. Also, I just found out that his wife and son have strep throat now. Could be related to the air quality, or could just be a coincidence. I know some people in Florida with Strep right now too, so maybe it is nothing.

reply to post by antar


This woman is on South Main in Joplin, and she gives away Kangen Water for free (even before the storm). My brother and his friend were skeptical about its effectiveness, so they tested the water on a couple of occasions, and the pH value really is as high as she claims it is. The water is extremely healthy, I have drank a lot of it. It is absorbed faster, causes less bloating, and raises the overall alkalinity of the body in a healthy way! The only side effect is diarrhea for the first couple of days that you drink it.

If anyone is in Joplin and wants to follow Antar's advice, please go see Bonnie at Herbs For Life on South Main street!

This is really disheartening! All my friends and family are in that town, and I use to live there! And, am getting ready to go back. Just called a friend of mine from Ponca City, Okla. that is volunteering there. I asked her if she was having any kind of breathing problems, and she said yes, almost at the same time I asked. She does, I told her to go to the Dr. as soon as possible! Wow. More proof! This is messed up my fellow citizens!

Don't really want to make a conspiracy of this whole thing, but here is a link to a site I go to and found this. Very interesting. You will get to see what happened to people in Oakville Washington included in this. I am out in Oregon and I have had the blobs on my car, and I only live a 100 miles from the Washington border in NW Oregon. Let's please keep this thread alive. I will come back and find it, her husband even said to go to the Dr., she is like me, rarely gets sick. This is sad. Here is the website. Like I said, not trying to make it this, but this is very scary, just info. By the way, thank you for the info, need to save my friends back there!!!

vaticproject.blogspot.com...

Here is the latest news being released by our local paper The Joplin Globe

June 16, 2011
CDC to study fungal cases in wake of Joplin tornado
By Wally Kennedy [email protected]

JOPLIN, Mo. — Investigators with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will take a further look at the cluster of fungal infections that developed among nine severely injured victims of the May 22 tornado.

Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the federal agency, said investigators arrived in Missouri on Tuesday in response to a request for help in the investigation by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

In an email late Thursday, she said: “The CDC has deployed four employees, including two epidemiologists, to Joplin, to assist with an investigation on fungal disease. The team will be in Joplin for two weeks.

“The team will be gathering more information on suspected cases, as well as conducting a case-control study. In this instance, people who have contracted the fungus will be compared to those who have not contracted the fungus to determine if there are any risk factors associated with contracting the fungus.”

Jacqueline Lapine, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, on Thursday said, “As part of that coordinated effort going forward, the CDC will be the primary point of contact on questions regarding further testing and confirmation.”

The investigators had not spoken, as of Thursday afternoon, to either Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious disease specialist with Freeman Health System, or Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department.

Freeman has seen at least five cases of the fast-growing fungal infection. It is believed to have contributed to the deaths of three people there and one at St. John’s Regional Health Center in Springfield.

The rare infection, zygomycosis, can have a fatality rate of 50 percent.

The spores can infect people with traumatic injuries, but the fungal infections are rare in healthy people, and clusters of them are even more uncommon.

Deep skin fungal infection does not spread from human to human. No cases have been attributed to air, food or water.

To date, no cases of the fungus have been reported among workers in the damage zone.

Below is an article about one of the tornado survivors who died do to the rare fungus. It shows just how aggressive it attacks a weakened immune system and reflects why CDC is here now.

He learned six days after the May 22 tornado that his mother had a fungal infection in a wound on her head."They said there was mold or something growing on the wound and they had to clean it up," Thomas Hardin said.

Doctors tried to control the fungus with intravenous medicine and by removing tissue that had been killed by the rapidly spreading infection.

Thomas Hardin said his mother underwent surgery two or three more times to try to control the infection, but it didn't work. On June 7, she went into cardiac arrest. She was resuscitated but was being kept alive by life support. She died about 3:30 p.m. on June 8.
ex]
www.news-leader.com...

Originally posted by moonleaf
We live about 100 miles from Joplin, and I can say that there is something different in the air around here. We have had so may people in our area with respiratory infections that the clinics are always full. I have never had problems with allergies, but I have been sick with so-called allergies for about a month now, along with everyone else that I know. And allergy meds are not helping. We have had lots of chest colds, much more than normal for our kids.

Lots of unexplained rashes around as well, that just do not respond to any meds.

I hope you feel better. This is first time I've even heard about this. If it's airborne that means it's spreading to other areas of the country. No way they will be able to contain it. I don't know what to think. But, I know those tornado were not normal. I mean they just pulverized a city into nothing. I hope people are able to recover.

Almost makes me start to believe in plagues...

Actually I read on
outbreaks.globalincidentmap.com...
that a case of Bubonic plague was confirmed in Oregon and in Boulder Colorado.
I didn’t think it still happened either…
(sorry about the link)

edit on 19-6-2011 by AussieAmandaC because: never mind, it worked...