Sporotrichosis warning

From: sfarrington@ridgway.mobot.org
Date: Fri Aug 08 1997 - 05:15:31 PDT


Date: Fri, 8 Aug 1997 12:15:31 +0000
From: sfarrington@ridgway.mobot.org
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg3011$foo@default>
Subject: Sporotrichosis warning

Hi, everyone,
Just wanted to warn all you fellow cp'ers to be careful when you're
mucking about and potting up carnivorous plants in sphagnum moss... I
managed to pick up a case of sporotrichosis, a rare fungal infection
that can occur when sphagnum moss (or peat moss or even soil) gets
into an open wound. (I was stupidly potting up cp's without gloves
when I had a wound on the back of my hand). It became an open red
sore that would not heal... eventually the doctors figured it out,
and I have been taking potassium iodide for it for two weeks now.
It's starting to heal up finally, but I'll have to take the medecine
for at least another month. It wasn't too big a deal for me, but if
it isn't treated, it can sometimes spread throughout the body,
causing a life threatening infection. So beware and be safe!

Susan Farrington
Missouri Botanical Garden



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