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The death toll from the tornado that destroyed much of Joplin, Mo., has risen to 151, and three of the latest victims suffered from a rare fungal infection that can occur when dirt becomes embedded under the skin, authorities said Friday.
The death toll from the tornado that destroyed much of Joplin has risen to 151, and three of the latest victims suffered from a rare fungal infection that can occur when dirt becomes embedded under the skin, authorities said Friday.
In the aftermath of the Joplin tornado, some people injured in the storm developed a rare and sometimes fatal fungal infection so aggressive that it turned their tissue black and caused mold to grow inside their wounds.
Dr. Schmidt said he had seen only two cases of zygomycosis in his 30 years of practice, and both of those cases involved people with untreated diabetes.
"These people had multiple traumas, pneumonia, all kinds of problems," said Dr. Uwe Schmidt, an infectious-disease specialist at Freeman Health System in Joplin. "It's difficult to say how much the fungal infections contributed to their demise."
