There are now 12 confirmed cases of blastomycosis in Constance Lake First Nation

The number of people confirmed to be sick with blastomycosis in Constance Lake First Nation has risen to 12.

Chief Ramona Sutherland said nine other probable cases are in hospital and 119 have symptoms.

Those people are experiencing a lung infection, which includes cough, fever, chills, fatigue and difficulty breathing.

Autopsies have linked two deaths to blastomycosis.

Blastomycosisis is caused by a fungus called blastomyces. The fungus is generally found in soil and rotting wood in certain parts of North America. If disturbed, spores can spread through the air. But it cannot be spread from one person to another.

Sutherland said they still haven't confirmed the source in Constance Lake. She said they've been told repeatedly that it lives outside and now there is snow on the ground and it will be hard to find. That also means they do not think it is growing and the threat is low unless you start digging and disrupt the soil.

"So right now, the children are not outside," Sutherland said. "I just want to encourage people to keep in mind that the snow is our protector right now, but that doesn't give us much rest at the leadership level because spring is coming." 

Sutherland said they've also put a housing project on hold despite a housing shortage. They are fearful to disrupt the soil through construction until they find the source.

As for the mental health of the community, counsellors and medicine people have been called in to help those who are grieving and anxious.

Wayne Neegan is a community liaison officer and was very close to one of the people who died. He also worked with another.

"It's quite sad to know that we lost three community members," he said.

Neegan said people want the leadership to get to the bottom of the source. They have environmentalists, health counsellors, government and a number of other organizations working with them.

"We have investigators who are out there on the land right now taking samples, and we do have from the health sector counselors that are coming in," he said.

Neegan said it is taking a toll on everyone to lose three people so suddenly. And it is hard on families whose loved ones have had to leave the community for treatment.

"So we got a few kids who are in Ottawa, we do have a few people in Sudbury, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie," he said. "I would like to thank those facilities for taking on our community members with such short notice."

Roger Wesley, a crisis management coordinator for Constance Lake, said they have plenty of places where the fungus could have grown. He said they've tested a lot of high traffic areas.

"We have a lot of trails in the community that are heavily used by folks and a lot of children," Wesley said. 

"They connect homes. There are a couple of major routes that head to the post office, to the store, to the band office, to the health centre and to the social development building. So these areas we've tested."

He said with more than 100 people showing symptoms, they may have close to 40 to 60 households with people who have gotten sick.

He said he's glad he can work with the teams trying to find the source. One of the people who died was his cousin and he just wants to be able to focus on finding answers for the families.