Health officials have said that a rare infection which arises from the flying debris from last tornado is responsible for the health risk that is faced by the residents of Joplin in Missouri. The infection is called fungal infection and it has already affected well over 900 people.

The officials said that those who are affected by the fungal infection are those who are injured by the tornado. The soil and plant matter from the debris permeated the skin of the injured people and it is now causing the fungal infection among them. Already the health officials have confirmed that about 151 people have died of the infection while several others are still infected. The officials also passed a warning to the hospitals in Joplin to know of the infection when treating the patients that were injured by the tornado.

The officials said that the last 8 deaths were as a result of the same injury. The figure also included the death of police officers who died after sustaining light injuries from the tornado attack. The health officials said that these police men were initially not included in the figure.

It would be recalled that on May 22 tornado ravaged the region of Joplin in Missouri State causing the death of many people.