Billerud Paper Mill Back To Full Operation Following Fungal Outbreak

A paper mill in Escanaba, Michigan that halted operations last month due to a fungal outbreak has now officially reopened.

After being idle for 25 days or more than three weeks, the Billerud paper mill reopened on Monday, the Swedish company announced on its website that operations were resumed escanabamillinfo.com.

“The Escanaba facility resumed operations on May 8 following recommendations from public health authorities and experts for a deep clean,” the company wrote.

“To date, no blastomyces spores have been found at the plant. The health and safety of our employees and contractors remains our top priority and we are focused on ensuring a safe return to the plant,” it added.

According to Billerud, it will continue to work closely with local, state and federal health experts as it investigates the situation.

The paper mill officially closed operations on April 13 following reports of a blastomycosis outbreak that killed a contractor and sickened more than 100 other employees.

Blastomycosis is an infection caused by fungi of the genus Blastomycetes, which usually live in moist soil and decomposing material such as wood and leaves. Inhalation of fungal spores can lead to infection with a variety of symptoms including fever, cough and chest pain.

Cases continued to pile up despite factories having fully reopened, with local health authorities announcing six new cases in the past week, bringing the total to 115, detroit free press report.

In a statement to the media, Public Health Delta and Menominee County (PHDM) health officer Michael Snyder said the new cases would not translate into continued exposure. Instead, some infected people started showing symptoms later.

“Because of the long incubation period — the time from exposure to the fungus to the onset of blastomycosis symptoms — it is likely that all cases were exposed before the plant was operating idly,” Snyder said.

The incubation period for blastomycosis is 21 to 90 days, phdm saysadding that those experiencing symptoms should contact their healthcare provider for testing and treatment if needed.

Published by Medicaldaily.com