SPORE PRINTS BULLETIN OF THE PUGET SOUND MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY Number 493 June 2013 BASEBALL PLAYERS AMONG GROWING Development and Growth VALLEY FEVER VICTIMS Brian Bienkowski Development—“bulldoze change”—might contribute as much as The Daily Climate, May 9, 2013 climate change to the spread of Valley Fever in the region, said Andrew Comrie, a climatologist at the University of Arizona Fifteen Major League baseball teams bring about 1,000 ballplay- who studies Valley Fever. And the populations of Tucson and ers to Arizona for spring training every year. There the athletes are Phoenix, Arizona—two hot spots for Valley Fever—have grown exposed to a lung disease called coccidioidomycosis, or Valley by 8 percent and 11 percent over the past decade, according to Fever. the U.S. Census. Conor Jackson had a big bat and a bright future. But after he Arizona in 2009 also increased the sensitivity of its test for the contracted the rare illness in 2009 while playing with the Arizona disease, doubling the number of reported cases. Diamondbacks he was never quite the same. Last year another ma- jor league baseball player—Ike Davis of the New York Mets—was Still, the disease seems ideally suited to take advantage of Arizo- diagnosed with the same thing. na’s climate of the future. The Southwest is already the hottest, driest region in the country, and it is getting worse. The average What is Valley Fever? temperature has increased about 1.5º Fahrenheit over the last cen- Valley Fever is a lung disease caused by Coccidioides—a genus tury, compared to 1.3ºF for the rest of the mainland United States. of imperfect fungi—that thrives in hot, dry areas such as the The average annual Southwest temperature is projected to rise an Southwestern U.S. People get the infection if they inhale fungus- additional 2.5ºF to 8ºF by the end of this century, according to fed- released spores. eral estimates. The fungi’s heat and drought tolerance allow them The illness isn’t new to the region or limited to just ball players to live through conditions that kill other plants, Comrie said. spending time in Arizona. Most people in the Southwest are ex- Grow and Blow posed, and the fungus is often spread when desert soils are disturbed. It is prevalent among agriculture and construction workers. The fungus also relies on a moist winter, and that season is getting slightly wetter—ideal “grow and blow” conditions that researchers For many of those infected, Valley Fever usually goes away believe will make matters worse. Rain prompts fungal growth; without major problems. But in severe cases it can cause chronic heat lets it blow around months later. pneumonia and infections in bones and joints. Pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher The Valley Fever Center says most infections go unreported and risk. Also, Asians and blacks are at a higher risk for reasons that estimates that the truer number of annual infections in the South- are unclear, said Benjamin Parke, a medical officer with the U.S. west is closer to 150,000 cases. The United States has a “lion’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. share” of the total number of infections worldwide, Galgiani said, and 97 percent of all U.S. cases are in California and Arizona. Inmates Killed California is investigating an outbreak that has sickened 28 workers at two large solar construction projects in the Carrizo Plain, and the CDC is probing outbreaks that killed more than three dozen inmates FDA MUSHROOM REGULATIONS in two California prisons. The state is fighting a federal official’s Under federal regulations, mass-produced foods are allowed to order to move 3,300 at-risk inmates out of those two prisons. have a certain level of contamination. To be considered “adulter- “Most people recover and everything’s fine,” said John Galgiani, ated,” for example, mass produced mushrooms must exceed the director of the University of Arizona’s Valley Fever Center for following thresholds: Excellence, adding that less than 1 percent of those infected by the fungus experience life-threatening impacts. • Maggots of any size: an average of 20 or more per 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of drained mushrooms and pro- Jackson and Davis are the only two professional baseball players portionate liquid or 15 grams of dried mushrooms; to have contracted the disease, said Major League Baseball Players Association spokesman Greg Bouris. He said the issue hasn’t hit • Maggots 2 mm or longer: an average of 5 or more per 100 the radar screen of the players as a group yet. grams of drained mushrooms and proportionate liquid or 15 grams of dried mushrooms; But the athletes may be emblematic of a trend in the Southwest. Valley fever shot from about 2,265 reported cases in 1998 to about • Mites: an average of 75 per 100 grams of drained mushrooms 22,000 in 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and and proportionate liquid or 15 grams of dried mushrooms Prevention. or A warming Southwest can’t be blamed for all of that jump, experts • Decomposure: an average of more than 10 percent of the caution. mushrooms. MEMBERSHIP MEETING Tuesday, June 11, 2013, at 7:30 pm at the Center for Urban Hor- Spore Prints ticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle is published monthly, September through June by the This month we welcome our recently ap- PUGET SOUND MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY pointed Scientific Advisor,Dr. Steve Trudell. Center for Urban Horticulture, Box 354115 The topic of his presentation is “Getting University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 to Know the Genus Tricholoma.” Most (206) 522-6031 http://www.psms.org tricholomas are relatively large, showy for- OFFICERS: Marian Maxwell, President2012–2015 est mushrooms that attract the attention of [email protected] (425) 235-8557 mushroom hunters. Only a few are popular Milton Tam, Vice President2013–2014 edibles, but tricholomas also have great eco- [email protected] (206) 525-9556 logical importance due to their mycorrhizal John Goldman, Treasurer2012–2014 associations with many of the dominant tem- [email protected] (206) 933-0838 perate forest tree species. Unfortunately, when trying to identify Denise Banaszewski, Secretary2013–2015 Tricholoma species, probably every Northwest field mycologist TRUSTEES: 2013–2015: has struggled. However, with the recent release of Tricholomas Nick Herschberger, Larry Lee, of North America: A Mushroom Field Guide, identifiers should Debra Lehrberger, Danny Miller, have more success. Come meet Steve and learn what makes a Ed Sakai Tricholoma a Tricholoma, learn why identification problems still 2012–2014: exist, and meet a number of our Northwest species. Luise Asif, Teddy Basladynski, Jon Hall, Andrea Rose, Steve is a forest ecologist and itinerant educator who has been Reba Tam hunting, photographing, and learning about mushrooms for over 35 years. He earned his Ph.D. from the UW’s College of ALTERNATE: Brady Raymond Forestry Sciences and has served as vice president of the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) and as president of SCI. ADVISOR: Dr. Steve Trudell the Pacific Northwest Key Council. Steve is the author of (and EDITOR: Agnes A. Sieger, 271 Harmony Lane, photographer for) Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest (with Joe Port Angeles, WA 98362 Ammirati), Tricholomas of North America: A Mushroom Field [email protected] Guide (with Alan Bessette, Arleen Bessette, and Bill Roody), and Annual dues: single or family $30; full-time students $20 Mushrooms of Alaska’s National Forests (with Kate Mohatt and Karen Dillman) and has taught mycology, botany, and biology at the University of Washington, Evergreen State College, and Bastyr University, as well as workshops at many festivals, NAMA CALENDAR forays, and local mushroom club forays. His particular interest is in understanding why there is such a tremendous diversity of June 6 Field Trip (see website) fungi that produce mushrooms and the roles that they play in forest June 11 Membership Meeting, 7:30 pm, CUH carbon and nutrient cycling. June 17 Board Meeting, 7:30 pm, CUH Board Room Would people with last names beginning with the letters A–K Aug. 20 Spore Prints deadline please bring a plate of refreshments to share after the meeting. BOARD NEWS Denise Banaszewski FIELD TRIP REPORT, APRIL 27 Brian S. Luther Our 25-year agreement to lease office space at CUH expires in We had a very nice field trip day, with only an occasional sprinkle. June of 2014. We have started negotiations with UW to renew our Snohomish Co. Parks had turned on the power ahead for us (but lease, and are also looking at other options. The UW is not willing not the lights, unfortunately), so we did have electricity to make to enter into another long-term lease. We would like to stay at UW, coffee and heat water. Our hosts were Dory Maubach and Hilde- but that may not be possible long term. gard Hendrickson. They put out a very generous spread of yummy We need some help. Remember that PSMS is completely run by breakfast snacks, along with hot coffee. It was great! volunteers, so we need everyone to contribute! We need someone Fifty-six signed in. Daniel Winkler, Adrian Lee, his dad, Larry Lee, to help sell books at some of our meetings, ideally someone who and Danny Miller took groups out for a couple of hours, which was is familiar with the books we offer so they can help members especially helpful since many attending were new members. decide on which book to buy. Please contact John Goldman if you are interested in doing this. We need someone to chair our As expected, a smattering of different species came in, with Annual Fall Exhibit, and to chair a Vouchering Committee.