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Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop - The Globe and Mail 2/16/16 10:40 AM <br />AdChoices <br />`fry Globe Unlimited 1 month for jstt190 <br />See my options! <br />Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop <br />MICHAEL STAPLES <br />FREDERICTON — The Canadian Press <br />Published Sunday, Apr. 24, 2011 6:36PM EDT <br />Last updated Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012 4:35PM EDT <br />In the span of a few weeks, Erica Richards has been transformed from a vibrant 23 -year-old woman who loved nature to a <br />person battling for her life. <br />In early January, the Fredericton woman contracted a potentially fatal condition called cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal <br />disease carried in the feces of pigeons. <br />The debilitating illness attacks the spine and brain, causing severe swelling. It left her confined to a hospital bed in a state of <br />delirium for weeks. <br />But the most devastating side effect is that Ms. Richards is now blind. <br />"Be aware of this disease. It could kill a child in a heartbeat," Ms. Richards said in an interview from her hospital bed. <br />"It could kill a senior in a heartbeat without you even having to worry about the symptoms. It comes on that fast. If you don't <br />realize the symptoms, it could kill you, too." <br />Her emotional warning comes on the heels of city council's approval earlier this month of a recommendation that it toughen <br />its animal control bylaw to allow for fines for feeding pigeons. Once the amendment is drafted and declared law, it will give <br />the city's bylaw enforcement officers the power to ticket and fine offenders. <br />Ms. Richards said she decided to go public about her illness after Iearning about a recent newspaper story about a problem <br />with pigeon poop in the city. <br />"Please don't feed the pigeons," she said. "TIT to shoo them away if you see them. ... It (the disease) is horrible. The pain that <br />you get from this disease is crippling. <br />"The after-effects are with you for life and you just can't stop thinking about it. I just want other people to know and try to <br />stay away from pigeons." <br />Oddly enough, Ms. Richards said she has no recollection of ever being anywhere near pigeons. <br />"I am still wondering to this day where I got it," she said. "I could have stepped in it and brought it into the home. I just don't <br />know." <br />http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadian-woman-battling-crippling-disease-caused-by-pigeon-poop/article577526/ Page 1 of 7 <br />