A coroner’s inquest was announced Friday into five deaths during an outbreak of blastomycosis in Constance Lake First Nation, just west of Hearst in northeastern Ontario.
The deaths occurred between Nov. 19, 2021, and Jan. 23, 2022. Constance Lake First Nation was in a state of emergency for over a year after people first started to get sick with blastomycosis, a fungal infection that impacts the lungs. Dozens of people were also treated.
The inquest will examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of:
According to Public Health Ontario, blastomycosis is caused by a fungus known as Blastomyces dermatitidis, which commonly grows in moist soil and decomposing wood and leaves.
“If this environment is disturbed (e.g., through activities such as camping, digging/gardening, dirt/mountain biking), tiny fungal spores may be released into the air which can lead to infection if inhaled,” its website says.
Dr. Harry Voogjarv, regional supervising coroner based in Sudbury, announced the inquest. A date for the proceedings has not yet been released.
An inquest’s five-person jury is tasked with identifying who died, when and where they died, their medical cause of death, and by what means they died — classified as either natural causes, accident, homicide, suicide or undetermined.
Jurors cannot assign blame or make any legal judgments, but may make recommendations aimed at preventing future, similar deaths.
Public Health Ontario reported 126 cases of blastomycosis across the province in 2023, resulting in 11 deaths. There were also 13 deaths in 2021 and four in 2022.
