In today’s Health Alert, a Michigan man has passed away after battling a rare fungal disease. Ian Pritchard had developed blastomycosis, an infection caused by a local fungus. He died just days before his 30th birthday.
This is very sad news, and I give my sincere condolences to Ian’s family and friends.
Ian Pritchard was a chef in Harbor Springs. He spent 11 weeks fighting the infection, first in Petoskey and then at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The infection had unfortunately ravaged his lungs beyond repair – that’s according to a post on the family’s GoFundMe page.
Now, a blastomycosis infection is caused by a fungus called blastomyces. This fungus lives in the environment and is most often found in moist soil and decomposing organic matter like rotting wood and leaves. When the soil or organic matter is disturbed, tiny spores are released. If these spores are breathed in, they enter the lungs and can turn into yeast. This yeast might stay in the lungs or travel through the blood to places like the skin, bones, joints, organs, and the central nervous system.