Billerud announces the temporary idling of the Escanaba Mill for up to three weeks as a precautionary measure to protect the health and safety of its employees and contractors due to a blastomycosis fungal infection outbreak.
Billerud first learned of the blastomycosis fungal infections on March 3rd from the Public Health Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM), the local health department in Escanaba, Michigan, after PHDC was notified by the local hospital of several atypical pneumonia infections in individuals who work at the Escanaba Mill. Initial testing of individuals confirmed some of these infections are caused by a fungal infection called blastomycosis. To date, there have been 21 confirmed cases and 76 probable cases of blastomycosis among Escanaba Mill workers.
According to the PHDM, the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan is a known risk area for blastomycosis infection. Identifying the source can be difficult because the blastomyces fungus is endemic to the area and there has never been an industrial outbreak of this nature documented anywhere in the U.S.
Billerud is one of the leading manufacturers of packaging paper made from virgin fibers.
