Oregon – Page 2 – Infinite Unknown

New Airborne Killer Fungus (Cryptococcus gattii) Found in US, Has Already Killed Six

April 23, 2010 by Infinite

– Killer fungus seen in Pacific Northwest (CNN)

Infections from a new strain are unpreventable-and the strain is spreading.

The new Cryptococcus gattii fungus strain, magnified.

A new strain of hypervirulent, deadly fungus has been discovered in the United States, a new study says.

The outbreak has already killed six people in Oregon, and it will likely creep into northern California and possibly farther, experts say.

The new strain is of the species Cryptococcus gattii, an airborne fungus native to tropical and subtropical regions, including Papua New Guinea, Australia, and parts of South America. An older strain of the fungus was frst detected in North America in British Columbia, Canada, in 1999.

No one knows how the species got to North America or how the fungus can thrive in a temperate region, experts say.

Emerging Killer Virus Starts Like a Cold, But Kills Many

July 20, 2008 by Infinite

(NaturalNews) A newly discovered and highly lethal virus strain begins with symptoms similar to that of a cold but can quickly lead to severe respiratory crisis.

Mysterious Earthquakes Off Oregon

May 16, 2008April 13, 2008 by Infinite

(GRANTS PASS, Ore.) – Scientists listening to underwater microphones have detected an unusual swarm of earthquakes off central Oregon, something that often happens before a volcanic eruption – except there are no volcanoes in the area.

Scientists don’t know exactly what the earthquakes mean, but they could be the result of molten rock rumbling away from the recognized earthquake faults off Oregon, said Robert Dziak, a geophysicist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Oregon State University.

There have been more than 600 quakes over the past 10 days in a basin 150 miles southwest of Newport. The biggest was magnitude 5.4, and two others were more than magnitude 5.0, OSU reported.