A rare pulmonary disease that has been linked to bat and bird droppings has been found in Alberta. The disease called histoplasmosis is usually found in the central United States and parts of Ontario and Quebec.

“We were surprised at how many cases were locally acquired, as histoplasmosis has always been considered a travel-related infection,” said Dr. Tanis Dingle, Albert Prevcision Lab’s lead clinical microbiologist for fungal diseases and an assistant professor in the U of A’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. “We now know that it is definitely living in Alberta and has the potential to infect people who come in contact with it.”

The fungus can be found in contaminated dust particles . When inhaled, patients experience infections, flu-like symptoms, cough, fever, chills, and headaches.

Now, more cases have been found in Alberta and primarily in central Alberta. Between 2011 and 2018, 45 cases of histoplasmosis were confirmed while 15 of those cases were determined to be locally acquired in Sundre, Stettler and county, Stony Plain, and Spruce Grove.

“Histoplasmosis can be a challenging disease to diagnosis and to treat, and patients often spend months before the correct diagnosis is made. Awareness that the disease is here is an essential first step for doctors to be able to consider the diagnosis and order the appropriate tests,” said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, assistant professor of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alberta.

The researchers are exploring whether climate change is a factor in the disease’s spread as histoplasmosis can survive in warmer soil temperatures.