One person has died of a fungal infection following an outbreak at a Michigan paper mill that has likely infected nearly 100 people, public health officials announced.
A contractor who worked at the Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill died of blastomycosis “recently,” the Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties said Friday. The health department began investigating an outbreak at the mill last month after sick employees, ailing from pneumonia-like symptoms, tested positive for a fungal infection called blastomycosis.
Brian Peterson, the mill’s vice president of operations, said in a statement that they were deeply saddened by the death. The contractor has not been identified by the company or health officials.
“Anyone who works at our facility is part of our team, and we are keeping this individual, their family, coworkers and friends in our thoughts and close to our hearts,” Peterson said.
Billerud said last week it would be temporarily suspending operations at the mill for “up to three weeks” for the safety of its employees and contractors.
Blastomycosis is caused by a fungus that primarily lives in moist soil and decomposing organic matter, such as wood, and it spreads through the inhalation of spores, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include fever and cough, and people with more weakened immune systems may have more severe cases.
The infection can spread to the lungs and other organs, the CDC says.
A total of 21 cases have been confirmed by the public health department since March, and more than 70 probable cases have been reported. Of those cases, 12 people have been hospitalized in the outbreak, according to Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties.
Billerud, a multinational paper and packaging company based in Sweden, said in a statement to NBC News last week that it has implemented several recommendations from public health experts since the outbreak was identified.
Its Michigan mill was founded in 1911 as the Escanaba Pulp and Paper Co. on the bank of the Escanaba River in the state’s Upper Peninsula. The river connects to Little Bay de Noc off Lake Michigan.
Blastomyces, the fungus responsible for the infection, is typically found in the areas surrounding the Great Lakes, as well as the Ohio, Mississippi and Saint Lawrence rivers, according to the CDC.
More than 800 people are employed at the mill, which can produce about 730,000 tons of paper annually, according to Billerud’s website.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
