Nice racist comment.... Did you even read and understand the article??? I saw no mention of it coming from or even being in mexico!!! What a loser!!!!

That's the way Deborah, play the race card. Mexican are not the only illegal aliens in the United States.

My thoughts exactly. I do realize where I live but I do get tired of everyone assuming the "illegal alien term" always means Mexico....Illegal Aliens are all over the U.S. and the race card is getting old. Can't we find some other excuse to use for being mistreated.......

Deborah -- " Nice racist comment.... Did you even read and understand the article??? I saw no mention of it coming from or even being in mexico!!! What a loser!!!! "

That's the point deb. Those of us capable of thinking know there is something else to the story when the name and origin of the fungus are intentionally not mentioned in the story.

The name of the fungus was clearly mentioned in the third line of the article. It was published (according to my computer), just before I read it just now.

Here is the information you need to keyword:

the fungus, cryptococcus gattii...

"At least 60 people have been sickened in four states by the fungus, cryptococcus gattii, which grows on or around trees. Illness occurs months after people breathe in its microscopic spores, and can be treated with anti-fungal medications."

[bold font inserted by me]

I cannot see why this was "intentionally not mentioned" for any "racist" reason. That is really a stretch.

"Race" in its correct definition is an obsolute word. No one is a "race" in the scientifica sense anymore. We are all mixed ancestry. If you are really talking complexion color you are still off base... talk to the platinum blondes luxuriating in the sun with tanning oil.

This whole "race" paranoia annoys me with its cosmic nonsense. Hard to believe so many people jump to use it. When they do, it becomes a paradigm of their inadequate or damaged gray cells.

Bri-1732738

How did illegal aliens come up???
In my book if your people aren't indian then we are all illegal aliens to them.
So stop with the stupid statements you racist!!!

You need to find yourself I think that you are already miserable and trying to place your misery on others. Suck it up and deal with it!!!
You are your own worse enemy!!!
Also, please explain to me how this is trully affecting your life??
then if it is then work around it and realize that you are probably causing more trouble to others than the Mexican population.

Here's a link showing the fungus, and what it looks like and the aftermath. Yikes!

http://www.google.com/images?q=cryptococcus%20gattii&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1024&bih=587

J. ROOK

How about telling us if the fungus is visible on the trees, what it looks like, what type of area's it has been found in. I live on the PA/OH border, but our climate and terrain are very similar and if this is air borne it could wind up here. How about a complete story!

J. you wouldn't really expect MSNBC to give all the pertinent facts which modern educated people might use to form an educated opinion on, now would you? Where it originates or where it is found indigenously. Or maybe MSNBC knows it came from lumber used in pallets from one of our "Trading Partners" (term used loosely.) That's exactly where a wood gnawing beetle came from which is now devastating our forests out west.

Educated people include among their skills reading comprehension. The name is in the article. The rest, any person with an actual education can find for themselves. Have you not tried?

The idea for MSNBC (in the long run) is to have people come to its site to peruse the news and "enjoy" the adds they sell. In order to maintain readership in this fast paced electronic age, you need articles to be concise, knowledgeable and above all truthful. Why then, should I need to Google for any LACKING information? If I wanted or needed FURTHER information I would certainly look for it but I really shouldn't NEED to look elsewhere.......should I?

Ethics and accuracy in journalism is very important. So is the personal responsibility to check multiple sources for a complete picture. News media is a very powerful tool capable of persuading public opinion. Still, shouldn't publish a story without all the facts. That is just poor editing and quality assurance.

do some research lazy @$$!

I just do not understand the thinking of too many of the people in the discussions here. MSNBC/newsvine provided the scientific term for the fungus. They have space constraints and length constraints and most of us non-scientivic types want to see an overview... not a scientific treatise.

If we are inclined .... there is enough information provided in the article for us to "look it up."

Sheesh, how lazy can minds get here... Accuracy, sure; detail, our responsibility as readers!

LOOK. IT. UP!

It says cryptococcus gattii. That IS the name--they DID give it. Did you just not read the story?

Uh...hello...

"they DID give it. Did you just not read the story?"

I just reread it again and it's not given anywhere (headline included) in the version I read. Thanks for the information however.

This article was updated 22 mins ago , so all off us that read it from 2ish to 3 pm . It was a very inadequate story ...They have updated . so more info was given ...which should of been like that from that start ! Do not write an article until you have all your facts .

They gave the name, cryptococcus gattii.

ye gods those of you who are lazy people LOL and advertise the fact!!!!... all news starts with the information they have at the time and the media relies on updates as they become available.

Guess what.. to get the latest updates (on Windows!) all you have to do is hit Cntrl F5 while the article is open on your window. However, since the last update for me was more than 2 hours ago, and did include the fungus's name, I suspect that the complainers missed it on their first scan of the story and goofed when they started criticizing the story.

There is no "popular name" apparently so far, but the scientific name has answers to ALL your questions and images of it besides.

This was, and is, one of MSNBC’s better stories.. The scientists' names are included, and they are excellent key words as their treatises on the subject ... with all the scientific detail you might want to tackle ... are immediately available on a search.

The whiners here who cannot take responsibility for themselves is scary... do your own work for a change. No silver platters available for unused gray cells!

SecondSight

I bow to your infinite wisdom & mighty intellect.

Now go have mommy make you a snack 'cause you get a bit testy when your blood sugar get low.

LOL!! Thank you Hartvig. (Was that infinite or infinitesimal?)

When several people say information is missing or incorrect and others respond that the information IS present and correct, I usually find that there was an update on the story between the first group of comments and the second. Checking this before calling the first group "stupid" would help prevent the second group from looking "stupid" as well.

What, don't you read good? He said on or around trees. That isn't specific enough for you?

(sarcasm of course)

I agree sinbad - it sure woul dbe nice if this article was more specific - alot of things grow around trees - I have moss around a lot of mine and vines and weeds - so WTH are we looking for???

AGAIN, it's cryptococcus gattii. They DID give the name. If you want to learn more, visit the CDC's website and look it up. It's a microscopic fungal organism--I doubt your vision is THAT good.

He mentions the name near the top of the story : "cryptococcus gattii" ;-)

blurred vision is a symptom, so this explains the lack of focus on the name in the article, therefore by all accounts, cryptococcus gattii must already be pretty widespread.

...fungus, cryptococcus gattii, which grows on or around trees.......there's no need for people to avoid going outdoors and exercising....

he gave the name stated in the comments above, the location was given too -the northwest (US) and british colombia...he ALSO gave the states, oregon, washington, one in idaho and one in california!

maybe you should read the aricle again...

Thank you.....informative article....cryptococcus, not so rare.

from this outfit, or from the internet in general, you expect actual journalism? good luck.

doctor invincibilis... you are not invicible in this matter... this is an article geared to the audience... and all the information necessary for us to get further detail ... is there.

sheesh.. we may even have to look some things up!

As a news report with their time constraints, and the target audience ROFL! it is excllent.

This story did give the name of the fungus. That's your starting point. There's no reason for you to not search for more information. Besides further information (human interest stuff, too) has been given in previous stories on this problem.

cryptococcus gattii -- it's in the article.

They did. Read it again.

Can you people really not read? It says it right in the article. It's Cryptococcus gattii, for crying out loud.

If they couldn't read the article how can they read your post? Gotta love 'em......No doubt this was planted in the Northwest by criminal elements from New York...part of the Gattii family, the Dapper Don meets the Flamboyant Fungus, sheeze people let's panic a little, more people die from peanut allergies for cryin out loud!

You got all of the facts that you need in order to search for more information. All that you have to do now is to sit at your computer, type (or copy and paste) the name of the fungus into the appropriate box on your favorite search engine, and hit enter.

Thank you !! Ok I started off copy and paste your name rpearlston ! I'm off to a great start !

I think I have the hang of this copy and paste !! Really Rpearlston , when this article first appeared , there was barely no info except the name of tropical fungus . If you are on the run and had that 2 mins to read a article it should have all the facts ...It felt like a gimmick like our local news reports ...hey we have important info for you to know , but stay tuned and watch at 11 o'clock to get the rest ..bs ! If your gonna give it to me , give it to me now !

The why is global warming. As for the rest of the basics, they're there, in the bare-bones article. Fill in the blanks by doing some research yourself!

Or you can LOOK IT UP FOR YORSELF!