Image from 2016 Bat -- LNN

By Connor Gunn/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Rare disease linked to bats discovered in Alberta

Mar 19, 2021 | 9:43 AM

EDMONTON, AB- The “Germ Hunters” team through the Alberta Government has discovered a rare pulmonary disease that is linked to bats.

Infectious disease experts at Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) along with researchers from the University of Alberta confirmed “histoplasmosis” was found in the province.

Histoplasmosis is a “fungal infection transmitted through bat and bird droppings,” according to the report.

Their study extends the known range of the disease much further northwest from its traditional home in the central United States and parts of southern 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, APL’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.”

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Histoplasmosis cases in Alberta — credit The Lancet

“The fungus can be present in contaminated dust particles, and when inhaled, patients experience respiratory infections with flu-like symptoms, including cough, fever, chills, and headache,” experts say.

Cases can be related to individuals who have come in contact with bat or bird droppings in old homes, churches, construction sites, and parks.

“Knowing that histoplasmosis is here can help improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients who have no history of travel to the traditional risk areas,” said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, assistant professor, division of infectious diseases, U of A.

“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.”

45 cases were confirmed of histoplasmosis in Alberta between 2011 and 2018, the researchers used epidemiologic data and genetic analysis to determine that “15 of the cases were locally-acquired.”

Map of Histoplasmosis from the CDC

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included newly drawn maps of areas where the disease is known to occur.

More information on histoplasmosis can be found here.