Chef, 29, passes away after contracting a FUNGAL infection that ‘created large cavities in his lungs’ – as deadly infection spreads across America – The Gentleman Report | World | Business | Science | Technology

A 29-year-old chef from Michigan has died from a fungal infection that affected his body for months – as signs of the strain spreading across the US continue to grow. Ian Pritchard, from Petoskey, was removed from life support over the weekend at his own request after enduring weeks of suffering and pain, as his family stated that the fungus had caused ‘holes in his lungs’. He was first hospitalized around Thanksgiving with symptoms resembling the flu and later transferred to a Detroit hospital for more specialized care, where he was diagnosed with blastomycosis. His condition deteriorated rapidly as the spores penetrated deep into his lungs, infecting the tissue and causing them to resemble ‘Swiss cheese’, according to his father Ron.

Ian Pritchard was in a medically-induced coma in a Detroit hospital before passing away over the weekend. Doctors were unable to eradicate the fungal infection, which would have tee’d Ian up for a life-saving lung transplant

Blastomyces is more common than scientists previously knew, cropping up in many eastern states where it is not considered endemic
The fungal infection was caused by exposure to the blastomyces fungus found in soil, wet leaves, and decaying wood throughout much of the Midwest. Health officials have not been able to determine the source of Ian’s infection, but his social media is filled with pictures of himself spending time outdoors shooting with friends and playing with his black Labrador Retriever. Infections in that region have been increasing in recent years, although the true impact of the fungus in the US is not known because the vast majority of states are not obligated to report them to the government. Ian was employed as a chef at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Rodrigo’s in Harbor Springs before his passing. His father Ron stated: ‘He was a good kid. He didn’t get in very much trouble, he was no trouble to raise. People love his food, people love him.’ Ian spent months in the hospital before succumbing to the infection on Saturday. The week prior to Thanksgiving, he was admitted to hospital.

The above map shows states where blastomycosis cases have been confirmed (red), recently confirmed (orange) or are suspected to occur (blue)
It’s not clear what his symptoms were early on, but the initial stages of blastomycosis infection typically mimic a flu-like illness. Early symptoms include cough, fever, chills, muscle aches, joint pain, and chest pain. Mr. Pritchard’s condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to his transfer to the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. It was there that doctors identified blastomyces as the cause of his infection. In total, Ian spent over five weeks in the Detroit hospital. His father Ron said: ‘They showed us a picture of his lungs, and they literally looked like Swiss cheese.’ The infection occurs when a person inhales spores of the blastomyces fungus, commonly found in wet leaves, soil, and rotting wood. Infection from breathing in the spores is rare and only about half of those exposed will exhibit symptoms. The infection begins in the lungs, where the spores embed themselves into lung tissue. The immune system mounts a defense against the infection, sending a multitude of white blood cells to the lungs, leading to inflammation in the lung tissue and resulting in lasting damage. Blastomycosis can spread through the bloodstream to various parts of the body, including the bones, brain, and other organs, and it claims between four and 22 percent of its victims. Antifungal treatments such as Itraconazole and Amphotericin B are available, but the infection resisted antifungal medication, rendering Ian ineligible for a much-needed lung transplant. Ron Pritchard’s colleagues established a GoFundMe page to assist the family with travel expenses for staying with their son in the hospital and the accumulating medical bills. Ian’s antifungal medications alone cost approximately $7,000 for a month’s supply.

The fungus is endemic to the upper Midwest, the region in which hospitalizations due to blastomycosis is most common

Ian Pritchard, right, is pictured with his father Ron Pritchard

Ian is one of the roughly half of people exposed to the fungus who get sick. The infection is fatal in up to 22 percent of cases
According to an update on the GoFundMe page, Ian was responsive in his final days, and it was his decision to let go, asking his family to pull the plug.The Pritchards have now lost two children. The first was Ian’s older brother, who was stillborn at eight months. Both boys were survived by their sister Megan, who was by Ian’s side when he passed away.Exposure to blastomyces is relatively common in the upper Midwest and areas surrounding the Great Lakes.Ron Pritchard said: ‘It’s in the air, it’s in the trees, it’s in the wet leaves, it’s in the ground, it’s in the mud, it’s in, everywhere. Everywhere in northern Michigan – in fact, the Midwest – is covered in [blastomyces].’The true toll that blastomyces takes on a person’s health is not fully known because most states are not required to report infections.The ones that report blastomycosis incidences include Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.There is no indication yet that the fungus has gotten better at evading treatments, though it’s a threat that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has highlighted with another type of fungus, Candida auris (C. auris). There are only one to three cases per 100,000 people each year in states where blastomycosis is a reportable condition. Scientists have warned that an ever-warming global climate will only make infections like blastomycosis more common. As temperatures get warmer, fungi adapt to survive in those warmer climates. They also learn to survive better in the warm bodies of humans. A 2022 report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine said that more than 10 percent of fungal infections are diagnosed outside of regions where the pathogens are known to be endemic. Dr. George Thompson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Davis and co-author of the report, said: We’re definitely seeing disease in locations that we previously have not.‘And that’s concerning, because if we’re recognizing those locations, where are the places it’s occurring that just have not been recognized quite yet?’