Histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a common fungal infection that doesn’t cause symptoms in a lot of cases, but sometimes it can be severe and fatal.

Histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that occurs due to breathing the fungus that normally lives in the soil.

Causes and risk factors of histoplasmosis

• A fungus called Histoplasma capsulatum causes histoplasmosis, and the infection occurs when a person inhales the spores of the fungus from the soil because they can float in the air when the soil is disrupted. The fungus comes from the bird or bat droppings. The infection can’t spread from one person to another.
• The risk of histoplasmosis increases in people who are farmers, poultry keepers, gardeners, landscapers, pest control workers, construction workers, demolition workers, miners and cave explorers, and oil and gas extraction workers.
• People with a weak immunity and infants are more susceptible to having severe histoplasmosis.

Symptoms of histoplasmosis

The chances of having symptoms increase with the number of spores that a person inhales, and they include:

• Fever and chills.
• Cough.
• Shortness of breath.
• Chest pain.
• Headache.
• Tiredness.
• Muscle pain.
• Rash on the lower legs.
• In some cases, histoplasmosis can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome, damage in the lungs, heart problems, meningitis, vision issues, and adrenal insufficiency.

Diagnosis of histoplasmosis

• Blood or urine tests.
• Saliva and sputum tests.
• Imaging tests.
• A biopsy from the lung tissue or bone marrow.

Treatment of histoplasmosis

• Mild cases of histoplasmosis don’t often require a treatment.
• Antifungal medications in severe cases.
• The risk of histoplasmosis can be reduced by limiting exposure to things or places that cause the infection and taking safety measures when working where histoplasmosis is common.