Into the Woods ... From the 10 bizarre diseases that you can get outdoors ,here are our top 6. Frightening fungi, beastly bacteria and even deadly diseases — it's a wonder anyone heads outdoors anymore. With bugs, parasites and weird bacteria at every turn, what's to stop you from coming down with a rare disease? But most of the time, people can enjoy the outdoors quite safely without too much fanfare, said Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Colorado, Denver. Knowledge and understanding of diseases can help alleviate people's fears, Barron told us. So, here's the lowdown on some of the strange diseases you could encounter on your next wilderness jaunt, and some tips on how to avoid them. 1-Giardia The above image shows a Giardia muris protozoan (in blue and yellow) attached to a single intestinal cell, shown in red. A word to the wise in the wilderness: don't drink unfiltered water — no matter how clean or clear it may appear. You may swallow more than you bargained for; namely, the microscopic parasite Giardia. The gastrointestinal symptoms that accompany many an-infection are no walk in the woods (think bloating, abdominal pain and watery diarrhea), but they're not so extreme that a person can't live with them, Barron said. Symptoms can last two to six weeks, but anti-parasitic drugs can decrease the amount of time that the symptoms last, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And while some parasites are only found in certain regions of the country, for Giardia, it doesn't matter where you are in the United States — according the CDC, itcan be found in every region. Up next, a parasite whose protective shell allows it to survive outside of a warm host. 2-Cryptosporidiosis Giardia isn't the only parasite lurking in the water — there's also the microscopic parasite Cryptosporidium, which causes cryptosporidiosis (though both the disease and the parasite are referred to as "Crypto"). Unlike Giardia, the tiny protozoan parasite that causes Crypto is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive for long periods of time without a host, and makes it resistant to certain disinfectants, according to the CDC. People can become infected when they accidentally swallow water while they're swimming, Barron said. And if Crypto gets into a source of drinking water, entire towns may experience an outbreak, she said. Barron noted that while the gastrointestinal symptoms are unpleasant — "they're not something you're going to ignore," she said — most people will recover on their own without treatment. But now, let's turn to another parasite in the water that might as well come from a science fiction film. 3-Naegleria fowleri Naegleria fowleri — also known as the "brain-eating amoeba" — is as bad as its nickname implies. This single-celled microbe, which is found in warm freshwater (such as lakes, rivers and hot springs), causes a rare brain infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) and is almost always deadly. Between 1964 and 2014, there have been only 133 PAM infections in the U.S., and only three people have survived, according to the CDC. But a person can only become infected if the microbe enters the body through the nose — in what sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, the amoeba migrates along the olfactory nerve to the brain, where it begins to destroy the brain tissue. Drinking contaminated water, on the other hand, will not lead to an infection. Infections don't only come from water. Next, learn what to watch out for underground. 4-Histoplasmosis The above image shows three spores of Histoplasma capsulatum, the fungi that cause histoplasmosis. If you're planning on doing some spelunking this summer, watch out for histoplasmosis, also known as "caver's disease." The fungus that causes this infection is found in bat droppings, which cavers may inhale when exploring. Most histoplasmosis infections are asymptomatic, Barron said, who has seen patients with signs of past infections who never reported any symptoms (the infection can show up as a white spot on a chest x-ray, she said). For those who do come down with symptoms, the infection is similar to pneumonia, but anti-fungal medications can treat it. But the great outdoors isn't the only place you can find histoplasmosis — people have also been known to become infected after cleaning their chicken coops, Barron said. Caves aren't the places to find fungus — click on to see what's blowing in the desert breeze. 5-Valley fever This infection occurs when people inhale fungi that belong to the group Coccidiodes, which are found in the southwestern United States. The tiny spores live in the desert dirt, and on windy days, they can get blown around, Barron said. (This can make valley fever difficult to avoid in certain regions, she added.) Not everyone gets sick from breathing in the fungus, Barron said. Of those people who do breathe it in, the CDC reports that 40 percent will not develop any symptoms. The people who do get sick may have symptoms similar to the flu, but in severe cases, they can also develop pneumonia, according to the CDC. The number of reported cases of valley fever has been increasing since 1998 — in 2011, there were over 20,000 cases, according to the CDC. The increase could be due in part to increasing awareness of the disease, but it could also be due to changes in the environment. Changes in temperature and rainfall affect how the fungus grows and how much of it is in the air, according to the CDC. Up next: Coccidiodes isn't the only thing that's blowin' in the wind. 6-Blastomycosis Another inhaled fungal infection, blastomycosis, is caused by the Blastomyces dermatitidis fungus. Unlike valley fever, which thrives in drier areas, the Blastomyces fungus likes moist soil and is often found where there is rotting wood and leaves, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A lot of the fungal diseases are found in specific parts of the country, and Blastomyces is no exception — it's mainly found around the Great Lakes and the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, according to the CDC (think of places with abundant moist soil). Like other inhaled fungal infections, Blastomyces doesn't always cause symptoms, but when it does, it often resembles pneumonia, Barron said. People with mild infections don't necessarily need medication, but those with more severe infections might be prescribed an anti-fungal medication, according to the NIH. Source
