Deadly fungus 'Crypto Cox' disease spread by tsunami?

According to scientists, after the earthquake in the US state of Alaska in 1964, a deadly fungus came to the beach from the tsunami.

Researchers believe that the fungus spread to forests and beaches in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean and then learned to survive on its own.

This dangerous fungus has so far infected 300 people with a disease like pneumonia. The first case of this contagious disease called 'Cryptococcus' was reported in 1999 in the same area. 10% of the affected cases proved fatal.

If the study, published in the scientific journal Mbao, is accurate, it could affect other tsunami-affected areas.

This contagious fungus, known as Cryptococcus aureus, is commonly found in warmer parts of the world, such as Australia, Papua New Guinea, Europe, Africa or South America, especially Brazil.

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Researchers believe that the fungus has spread to other parts of the world through water carried on ships.

Scientists say the molecular age of the fungus found on the shores of British Columbia and the US state of Washington dates back to the era of the rapid growth of ships from South America when the Panama Canal was built in 1914. Was open

However, much interest in the fungus arose when the region was first identified in 1999 for human diseases caused by the fungus.

It has become a mystery to researchers how people living in the region became ill as the common infection is spread through respiratory spores that help the tiny particles of a disease to make their way into the lungs.

In this new study, two scientists came up with a new idea of ​​how such a deadly fungus managed to spread so widely in the forests near the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean.

He said a powerful 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska in 1964 played a key role in its spread.

The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. ۔

Due to the high water waves caused by the tsunami, the fungus spread from the sea to the coastal land where it began to grow in trees and soil and thus the fungus came in contact with biological and organic matter which made it numerous. Increased ability to spread like a disease.

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"We believe that Cryptococcus gut fungus had less ability to affect humans when it was living in seawater," said Arturo Casadiwal, co-author of the study and a doctor at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

"But when it landed on Earth three decades ago, amoebae and other biological organisms changed it until a new species, the cryptococcus, appeared, which was more harmful to human health."

Researchers say the tsunami water has the potential to carry a swarm of dangerous fungi, and there are indications that it could enter the skin and lungs of people infected with the fungus.

Researchers are concerned that in the coming years, many more infectious diseases will be discovered, triggered by tsunami waves caused by earthquakes in Indonesia and Japan a few years ago.

"The great thing at the moment is that tsunamis are a means of transmitting the germs of these infectious diseases from land to sea and river beds, which have been affecting wildlife and humans for some time," says Dr. Cassadiwal.

If this assumption is correct, it means that a time will soon come when the Cryptococcus gut fungus will cause a number of infectious diseases in the tsunami areas that hit the coasts of Indonesia in 2004 and Japan in 2011.