Wisconsin woman dead after contracting rare fungus found in soil
A Wisconsin woman died from a rare fungus that can be found in soil, especially in moist and wooded areas. The fungus when released in air can cause flu illness and even death.
prativad 
The odd fungus that killed a Wisconsin woman left her devoted family in shock.
The family of Sonya Cruz, who passed away in Ketnosha, Wisconsin, is now educating people about blastomyces, a rare fungus that, when disturbed, spews airborne spores that can result in fatal sickness.
The fungus is most prevalent in damp, forested areas of the soil.
Life in me. They robbed me of my life. I'm not referring to a hospital or anyone else. John Cruz, Sonya's husband, told Fox 6 that whatever this is, "took my wife."
Cruz had never heard of the fatal illness before his wife got it.
"I can walk out here and swallow a bullet, not literally a bullet, but a bullet of that," he said. "I think this is something that needs to be shared around the world."
According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), Wisconsin reported the highest number of cases of blastomyces in the U.S.- 2.1 cases per 100,000 residents.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health, the state had 1,142 cases – roughly 116 each year between 2011 and 2020.
"It's probably more common than we think," said Dr. Bruce Klein of the University of Wisconsin Medical School.
The CDC said that the rare fungus is also found in other Midwestern, south-central, and southeastern states.
"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," Klein said.
According to the CDC, deaths from blastomyces are rare with just 1,200 dead between 1990 and 2010.
Sonya's daughter, Shatrice Staten, said that she hopes that no one has to go through what her family's is going through following her mother's unexpected death.
"It just sucks. I had to watch my mom take her last breath. It really does," Staten said. "I don’t want anyone else to feel like what me and my dad going through."
