Mother-of-one in Wisconsin, 31, dies from rare fungus that is growing rapidly across US

A mother-of-one has died from a rare fungus that is spreading rapidly across the US.

Sonya Cruz, 31, from Kenosha, Wisconsin, died on July 5 from blastomycosis — an illness caused by the fungus blastomyces, which is mainly found in soil in wooded areas.

The rarity of the condition — with only one or two cases per 100,000 population per year in some states — meant she died after doctors failed to recognize the infection and misdiagnosed her with pneumonia.

Her family are now trying to raise awareness of the infection, which can kill up to 78 percent of sufferers, in the hope others will not have to go through their heartbreak.

Mrs Cruz’s husband, John Cruz, told Fox 6: ‘My life. They took my life away from me. I’m not saying the hospital or whoever. Whatever this is, took my wife.’

The fungus is the same one that infected over 100 workers at a Michigan paper mill back in spring.

Deaths by blastomycosis infections are increasing, according to the Minnesota department of health. 

In 2021, it reported 82 cases of the infection. Most years, nine percent of people with blastomycosis die from the infection, but in 2021, 23 percent of patients died.

According to Morgan Hughes, Mrs Cruz’s sister, a telecom company is digging around Mrs Cruz’s home to install an underground cable.

Ms Hughes said the Wisconsin health department has opened up an investigation into her sister’s death.

On June 16, Mrs Cruz went to the emergency room at St Katherine’s hospital in Kenosha, Wisconsin, complaining of difficulty breathing. 

Doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia and sent her home with antibiotics.

A week and a half later, things had not improved and she went to her primary care physician.

She was admitted to St Katherine’s where staff gave her more antibiotics and fluids. Two days later, she went into respiratory failure.

Mrs Cruz was put on a ventilator and sedated. She was given medication to keep her heart going because her blood pressure was slowly declining.

Doctors did a bronchoscopy and biopsy of her lungs, which came back as positive for blastomycosis.

Mr Cruz had never heard of the illness until his wife caught it.

He said: ‘I can walk out here and swallow a bullet, not literally a bullet, but a bullet of that.

‘I think this is something that needs to be shared around the world.’

Blastomyces tends to reside in moist soil, rotting wood and leaves. If the ground is disturbed, the spores can be thrown up into the air.

If the spores are inhaled, they can travel down to the lungs and cause a fungal infection. 

Symptoms include cough, fever, chills, muscle aches, joint pain, and chest pain.

It is not spread from person to person, but it can spread within an individual to other parts of the body like the skin or bones. 

The fungus can be deadly if not caught early. 

Mrs Cruz was given antifungal treatment but she sadly died after being in the hospital for just over a week.

The family set up a GoFundMe for Mrs Cruz, which said: ‘We lost a ray of sunshine in this world. “TeTe” “SoSo” meant the world to so many around her. 

‘She was and is surrounded by love with family, friends, her children and amazing husband, John.

‘Myself, John and the family are asking if you can contribute to this fund, so we can celebrate her life in the way we feel she deserves.’

Dr Bruce Klein, from the University of Wisconsin Medical School, has studied the infection for almost 40 years.

He said reported cases in Wisconsin are uncommon and the infection is under-reported.

‘That’s probably only a fraction of the true occurrence of infection, because we know that at least half of the cases can have mild or asymptomatic illness,’ Dr Klein said.

However, the Wisconsin department of health said it has the highest rate of blastomycosis in the US.

Between 2011 and 2020, the department reported 1,412 cases — averaging 116 per year.

Some 61 percent of those patients were hospitalized while 124 died, giving a death rate of 11 percent.