ESCANABA, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The number of fungal infections that has sickened many contractors and employees at an Upper Peninsula paper mill over the last two months keeps climbing.

As of Friday, Public Health Delta and Menominee Counties (PHDM) officials said there are 118 confirmed or probable cases of blastomycosis among employees and visitors of the Billerud paper mill in Escanaba. Of those cases, one person has died an 14 have been hospitalized.

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Health department officials said although the number of cases has increased by three over the past week, this does not necessarily indicate that fungal exposures are ongoing. They said the lengthy incubation time of exposure of the fungus to the time a person shows symptoms is 21 to 90 days.

Billerud has been working with PHDM, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plant recently went back online after shutting down for a multi-week deep cleaning. Billerud paid workers during that time.