Improper contact with pigeon pollutants may lead to fatal cryptococcus.

Pigeons can be seen everywhere in parks, squares and green spaces, fearing a fatal crisis! The doctor pointed out that a new cryptococcus fungus was hidden in the soil polluted by pigeon feces. If humans accidentally touch or inhale it, it will circulate to the lungs or central nervous system through blood, which may cause meningitis and bone infection. Symptoms include mild swelling and pain, fever and nausea, and severe death.

If you accidentally touch the land polluted by pigeon droppings, it may cause cryptococcus infection to people with low immunity. (Photo/Luo Huiwen) Huang Mingzhe, an attending physician in orthopedics at Beishi United Hospital, said that only about 5 ~ 10% of patients with systemic cryptococcal infection reported in the past would have skeletal system infection, and most of the others were lung or central nervous system infection. Bone infection is mostly a single site, the most common of which is the invasion of the spine. Patients' clinical manifestations are often only mild swelling and pain, so they often delay seeing a doctor.

For example, 1 female student, only 17 years old, has long felt pain in the posterolateral part of her left knee, and even has severe onychomycosis on her hands and feet. The clinic X-ray showed that the femur was damaged, and further biopsy showed that it was a rare cryptococcus neoformans infection in musculoskeletal system, and it was diagnosed as "systemic cryptococcus neoformans infection complicated with distal femoral infection". After treatment with antifungal drugs, it improved, and the outpatient department continued to follow up.

Cryptococcus infection is rare in normal healthy people, and the immune function of infected people is often low, such as HIV or tuberculosis infection, cancer patients, osteoid patients, and patients who use immunosuppressive drugs for a long time after organ transplantation. In this case, a 17-year-old woman was infected because of the decline of her own immunity caused by long-term steroid treatment.

Dr. Huang Mingzhe reminded that the current treatment principle is mainly antifungal drugs. If the drug treatment effect is not good, it needs to be supplemented by debridement, but the most important thing is to be vigilant and avoid contact with pigeon excrement. Besides, don't ignore the long-term swelling and pain. It is best to seek the assistance of a specialist as soon as possible to avoid delaying treatment.