#cryptococcus gattii

[loscerritoscommunitynews]

HMG-CN SPECIAL REPORT: Area Trees Harbor Life Threatening Fungus For Those With Compromised Immune Systems

HMG-CN SPECIAL REPORT: Area Trees Harbor Life Threatening Fungus For Those With Compromised Immune Systems

By Brian Hews Cerritos and surrounding communities are home to thousands of Canary Island pine trees that harbor Cryptococcus gattii (C. gattii ). C. Gattii can cause infections with those who have compromised immune systems. C. Gattii infections were prevalent in Southern California but doctors did not know how people caught the virus until a Duke University project found the virus in the pine…

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[pozmagazine]

HEADS UP: A Fungus Hazardous to People With HIV Found to Grow on Trees in SoCal A teenage girl’s science project has led researchers to pinpoint the source of a fungus that’s long been sickening HIV-positive people in Southern California: It’s called Cryptococcus gattii and it grows on three species of trees in the region—Canary Island pine, Pohutukawa, and American sweetgum. For those unfamiliar, C. gattii leads to lung and brain infections and is the cause of a third of all AIDS-related deaths in the United States.