There was a lot of media coverage last week of a new strain of fungus found in the Pacific Northwest that one study showed was deadly to lab animals and has been linked to 6 human deaths and 15 other infections. While those are all grim figures—as is the news that the fungus could potentially be spreading from Vancouver Island, Washington state and Oregon down to California—my TIME colleague Alice Park recommends tampering initial panic with a more clear picture of the actual threat. Speaking with Edmond Byrnes, a graduate student in microbiology and molecular genetics at Duke University whose research into the deadly strain of Cryptococcus gattii sparked the media frenzy, Park learned that, while researchers should keep an eye on the fungus and public health officials may want to keep it on their radar, the recent spread and infections are still minimal. As Byrnes explained: “These infections are still rare, and from an overall health perspective, I don’t think anyone should be concerned, but should just be aware that it is increasing geographically and incidence-wise in [the Pacific Northwest],” says Byrnes. “For the average person, I don’t think this is anything to be too worried about.”
Byrnes said that what is most important at this point is that health professionals be aware of the fungus and recognize potential symptoms of exposure early on, Park reports:
“Byrnes advises doctors to be mindful if otherwise healthy folks develop symptoms of infection, such as a persistent cough, headaches and night sweats, that mimic pneumonia or meningitis. While there is a treatment for the infection, it isn’t an easy one. It involves several months of a daily intravenous drip with an antifungal solution, followed by several more weeks of an oral treatment to stop the infection.”
A CDC epidemiologist also emphasizes the need for awareness among health care providers, but says that changing behavior to avoid fungus exposure is likely useless—as they haven’t yet been able to determine precisely where the fungus is in the environment—and unwarranted. In other words, for those of us living in the Pacific Northwest, fungus fear shouldn’t be a reason to hang up the hiking boots.
Read the full TIME story here.