A potentially deadly fungus has been spreading throughout Tennessee, health officials have warned.
Over 35 cases of histoplasmosis, a lung infection caused by exposure to the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, have been confirmed in a three-month period in the Maury and Williamson County area, according to numbers presented on Jan. 12 by the Tennessee Department of Health.
A family has also spoken out with claims that one woman died after contracting histoplasmosis, with a positive test result returned two days after her death, according to a local report.
However, during a briefing at the Williamson County Board of Commissioners, state epidemiologists said an investigation is underway and that the infection has not yet been confirmed as the direct cause of any fatalities.
They also noted that the average age of those infected is 50.
The fungus comes from soil that is contaminated with bird or bat droppings, according to state officials. People are exposed when they breathe in the fungal spores. A single common source has not been identified in the Tennessee outbreak.
In most cases, people don't get sick, but there is the potential for histoplasmosis to cause respiratory...
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