That's right, laydeez 'n gennamens ... remember, you read it here first ... We're being set up for another sucker punch. The name is different, but the 'threat' remains the same ... this time, the 'bug' is named Cryptococcus gattii - no relation to John, either. When you read ALL the way to the LAST line in the article, what do ya find ... ? A reference to 'climate change' helping to spread the virus. Damn! Is there ANYthing these people won't hype? I'm still not getting their damned vaccine ... Give it time - it'll be on the 'news' soon enough. Where's AlGore ... ? Anybody seen AlGore ... ? Wanna start a pool for when they'll begin classifying this as a new 'pandemic' ... ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22129903.htm

Potentially deadly fungus spreading in US, Canada

22 Apr 2010 22:21:58 GMT | Source: Reuters

* Fungus is unique genetic strain
* Climate change may aid its spread

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia, researchers reported on Thursday.

The airborne fungus, called Cryptococcus gattii, usually only infects transplant and AIDS patients and people with otherwise compromised immune systems, but the new strain is genetically different, the researchers said.

"This novel fungus is worrisome because it appears to be a threat to otherwise healthy people," said Edmond Byrnes of Duke University in North Carolina, who led the study.

"The findings presented here document that the outbreak of C. gattii in Western North America is continuing to expand throughout this temperate region," the researchers said in their report, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Pathogens at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000850.

"Our findings suggest further expansion into neighboring regions is likely to occur and aim to increase disease awareness in the region."

The new strain appears to be unusually deadly, with a mortality rate of about 25 percent among the 21 U.S. cases analyzed, they said. [Note: That's almost five people. Hold me.]

"From 1999 through 2003, the cases were largely restricted to Vancouver Island," the report reads.

"Between 2003 and 2006, the outbreak expanded into neighboring mainland British Columbia and then into Washington and Oregon from 2005 to 2009. Based on this historical trajectory of expansion, the outbreak may continue to expand into the neighboring region of Northern California, and possibly further."

The spore-forming fungus can cause symptoms in people and animals two weeks or more after exposure. They include a cough that lasts for weeks, sharp chest pain, shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.

It has also turned up in cats, dogs, an alpaca and a sheep.

Freezing can kill the fungus and climate change may be helping it spread, the researchers said.

Of course it's climate change.It's a well know fact to those who lived in the Pacific northwest that Vancouver island pumps all their untreated sewage right into the ocean.You see all kinds of people swimming around the bay unaware they are swimming in a sewer.I think I would start looking there first before chalking it up to climate change.

The fact that Nature has being killing things off all the time doesn't seem to come into play. Life, death, over and over again. Big frigging whoop.

There < ahem > IS a difference, tho', between the efficient hand of 'nature' doing away with things like life and property at random and the dead hand of 'government' [sic] CHOOSING which 'things' get eliminated. There is a HUGE difference between those two options. Before you jump up and say 'But 'government's not doing this!', I point out that I did not accuse them of doing this. Yet. This is merely pointing out the difference between the two if it later becomes known (as in the case of 'H1N1') that 'government' had a hand in it because they had an agenda at work behind the scenes.

Mexico also pumps raw sewerage int the Rio Grande.

Found this also.

#
New Concerns About Deadly Fungus Found in Oregon - ScienceNOW
Spores from a new strain of Cryptococcus gattii (purple) have killed 6 people in Oregon since 2005. ... Both are known as Cryptococcus gattii (pronounced GAT-e-i) ...
news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/04/... - Cached

Bartlett adds that even though C. gattii can be dangerous, infections are still rare. The VGIIa strain, for example, is ubiquitous throughout much of Vancouver Island. That means that most of the Island's 750,000 residents have been exposed to C. gattii multiple times with no symptoms

Dude, Every dictator in the history of the world has known that the best way to keep the people under control is to keep them living in fear.

Our " leaders " know that as well as anyone.

They aren't even bothering to be subtle about it anymore.

I was noticing that in 5 years 6 people have died from it while 750,000 have been subjected to it and not had any affect to it.

That has to be grounds for a worldwide emergency.

I work at a hospital, and I can't tell you how many hours and resources we have wasted stockpiling supplies for...

the avian flu...

or sars...

or H1N1...

and I'm sure this is next.

What better way to get A Climate Change bill passed than a designer fungus that is an Immediate threat