Michigan chef dies of fungal infection that ‘ravaged’ his lungs

Health

By Alex Mitchell

A 29-year-old Michigan chef died last week after battling a rare fungal disease that ravaged his lungs.

Sometime before Thanksgiving, Ian Pritchard contracted blastomycosis, a fungus-borne illness that targeted and wore out his respiratory system.

“They showed us a picture of his lungs, and they literally looked like Swiss cheese,” his father, Ron Pritchard, told UpNorthLive in December.

Pritchard was taken off life support Saturday at a Detroit hospital, according to a GoFundMe page that raised almost $20,000 for his family.

“The Blastomycosis fungal infection ravaged Ian’s lungs beyond repair,” the page read.

In people with weakened immune systems, the infection will spread from the lungs to the central nervous system along with the skin and joints, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Research from 2005 found that between 4% and 22% of infected people die from blastomycosis.

People contract the illness by breathing in spores of the fungus blastomyces, which live in moist soil and decaying wood and leaves found in the Midwest and the South.

“It’s in the air, it’s in the trees, it’s in the wet leaves, it’s in the ground, it’s in the mud, it’s in, everywhere. Everywhere in northern Michigan — in fact, the Midwest — is covered in [blastomyces],” Pritchard warned.

The infection typically develops within two to 15 weeks.

About half of patients will suffer symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, and muscle aches.

While there is no cure, the illness is treated with antifungal medications like Itraconazole — Pritchard said his son’s medications cost about $7,000 monthly.

Now, the Pritchard family is in shock over their sudden loss.

“He was a good kid. He didn’t get in very much trouble, he was no trouble to raise,” the grieving father added. “People love his food, people love him.”