Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Sep-Oct;26(5):259-62.
doi: 10.1155/2015/468453.

Blastomycosis in northwestern Ontario, 2004 to 2014

Daniel Dalcin  1 , Syed Zaki Ahmed  2
Affiliations

Blastomycosis in northwestern Ontario, 2004 to 2014

Daniel Dalcin et al. Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol. 2015 Sep-Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

Blastomycosis is an invasive fungal disease caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis and the recently discovered Blastomyces gilchristii. The medical charts of 64 patients with confirmed cases of blastomycosis in northwestern Ontario during a 10-year period (2004 to 2014) were retrospectively reviewed. The number of patients diagnosed with blastomycosis in Ontario was observed to have increased substantially compared with before 1990, when blastomycosis was removed from the list of reportable diseases. Aboriginals were observed to be disproportionately represented in the patient population. Of the patients whose smoking status was known, 71.4% had a history of smoking. 59.4% of patients had underlying comorbidities and a higher comorbidity rate was observed among Aboriginal patients. The case-fatality rate from direct complications of blastomycosis disease was calculated to be 20.3%; this case-fatality rate is the highest ever to be reported in Canada and more than double that of previously published Canadian studies. The clinical characteristics of 64 patients diagnosed with blastomycosis are summarized.

La blastomycose est une maladie fongique invasive causée par la Blastomyces dermatitidis et le Blastomyces gilchristii, récemment découvert. Les chercheurs ont réalisé une analyse rétrospective des dossiers médicaux des 64 patients atteints d’une blastomycose confirmée au nord-ouest de l’Ontario, déclarés sur une période de dix ans (2004 à 2014). Le nombre de patients ayant un diagnostic de blastomycose en Ontario avait considérablement augmenté par rapport à celui d’avant 1990, lorsque la blastomycose a été retirée de la liste de médicaments à déclaration obligatoire. Le nombre d’Autochtones représenté au sein de la population de patients était disproportionné. Chez les patients dont on connaissait le statut de fumeur, 71,4 % avaient des antécédents de tabagisme, 59,4 % présentaient des comorbidités sousjacentes, et le taux de comorbidités était plus élevé chez les patients autochtones. Le taux de mortalité causé par les complications directes de la blastomycose s’élevait à 20,3 %. C’est le taux le plus élevé jamais déclaré au Canada, soit plus de deux fois celui signalé auparavant dans les études canadiennes. Les caractéristiques cliniques des 64 patients atteints d’une blastomycose diagnostiquée sont résumées.

Keywords: Aboriginal; Blastomycosis; Case-fatality; Clinical characteristics; Northwestern Ontario; Smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1)
Figure 1)
Number (No) of patients presenting with blastomycosis at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Services Centre (TBRHSC, Thunder Bay, Ontario) according to year of diagnosis from February 1, 2004 to January 31, 2014. The number of cases of blastomycosis diagnosed in Ontario has substantially increased since 1990, when a mean of two cases were diagnosed per year. The mean number of cases diagnosed at the TBRHSC was 6.4 per year
Figure 2)
Figure 2)
Age distribution of all patients diagnosed with blastomycosis versus patients diagnosed with blastomycosis who died. Most of the 13 patients who died directly from blastomycosis-related complications at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Services Centre (Thunder Bay, Ontario) were middle-aged. There were no deaths of patients <20 or >79 years of age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dwight P, Naus M, Sarsfield P, Limerick B. An outbreak of human blastomycosis: The epidemiology of blastomycosis in the Kenora catchment region of Ontario, Canada. Can Commun Dis Rep. 2000;26:82–91. - PubMed
    1. Population and Public Health Branch: Summary of Reportable Diseases 1990. Toronto: Communicable Diseases Control, Ontario Ministry of Health; 1991.
    1. Morris S, Brophy J, Richardson S, et al. Blastomycosis in Ontario, 1994–2003. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12:275–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crampton T, Light R, Berg G, et al. Epidemiology and clinical spectrum of blastomycosis diagnosed at Manitoba hospitals. Clin Infect Dis. 2002;34:1310–6. - PubMed
    1. Northwest Community Health Integration Network Population Health Profile. < www.northwestlhin.on.ca/resources/~/media/sites/nw/uploadedfiles/Home_Pa...> (Accessed August 12, 2014)

LinkOut - more resources