On a warm evening in May 2005, Jessica Corcorran sat with her sister waiting for their friends to arrive. She looked up to scan the room, then turned to Andrea and commented lightly that everything looked funny.
“The people and objects were all wobbly,” recalls Jessica. She dismissed the incident that night and enjoyed the rest of the evening with their friends. Jessica’s blurry vision persisted through Sunday and Monday. A week went by and her eyesight still hadn’t cleared so she finally gave in and went to a clinic.
“They examined me, and all of a sudden nurses were running around and they asked me if I could get to the Riverside Hospital in Ottawa by 3:00 p.m. – that was at 1:00 p.m. on Friday,” says Jessica, who lives an hour south west of the city.
Getting a Diagnosis
At the hospital Jessica was told that she had Histo Spots and abnormal blood vessels that were bleeding. She was asked to return to the hospital on Monday, and not do anything strenuous over the weekend.
Jessica, 29 years-old at the time, had Occular Histoplasmosis Syndrome; a condition that would destroy her central vision completely in a very short time. She got it through exposure to a fungus that according to the Canadian Lung Association grows in warm, moist dirt. Histoplasmosis grows particularly well in bird and bat droppings and its spores become airborne when the dirt is disturbed. When inhaled the spores cause a mild form of infection – similar to the flu - if anything at all.
It’s quite common in the St. Lawrence Valley according to Dr. Gary Garber, Head of the Division of Infectious Disease at Ottawa Hospital, although serious cases of infection are quite rare.
“I’ve seen maybe two or three cases,” says Dr. Garber who has been in practice for over 20 years.
According to the U.S. National Institute of Health and Safety only a few people who have had exposure develop Occular Histoplasposis Syndrome, when the spores spread from the lungs to the eyes. Once they migrate, the spores lodge in the layer of vessels that provide blood and nutrients to the retina, the light sensitive part of the eyes. There they can leave scars often identified by Optometrists as Histo Spots. Histo Spots in themselves are not a problem, however they can promote the growth of abnormally weak blood vessels beneath them.
“I see presumed Histo Spots quite frequently in my practice,” said Dr. Leah Fraser a Smiths Falls Optometrist, but says she’s only seen one or two cases of Occular Histoplasmosis in her career.
Treatments but no Cure
Jessica has no ideas when she was exposed to Histoplasmosis. Like many people in rural towns, she has lived in old houses, and has been exposed to bat and pigeon dropping at one time or another. It could have been a year ago or ten, the timeline can’t be pinpointed,
Back at the hospital she had her first laser treatment to control the bleeding in her left eye. The laser treatment is necessary to stop the bleeding which not only impairs vision but also creates painful pressure inside the eye; unfortunately the treatment itself causes irreparable damage to the retina.
Ironically, Jessica has always been very protective of her eyes, always wearing sunglasses in bright light summer or winter. Yet within five months Jessica had lost her central vision. Her vision went from 20/20 down to 20/400 in her left eye and 20/300 in her right eye. She is legally blind. She relies solely on her peripheral vision.
“I can almost see my ears,” she grins, “that’s how good my peripheral vision is getting.”
Just a few months ago a backgrounder posted on the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada website, suggested that the incidence of fungal infections, including Histoplasmosis is on the rise and on the move, geographically.
Meanwhile Jessica sums up her experience with humor, “I can see people leaving, I just can’t see them coming.”
 |
