MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Blastomycosis

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Blastomycosis

Contents of this page:
Illustrations Alternative names Definition Causes, incidence, and risk factors Symptoms Signs and tests	Treatment Expectations (prognosis) Complications Calling your health care provider Prevention

Illustrations

Fungus

Alternative names Return to top

North American blastomycosis; Gilchrist's disease

Definition Return to top

Blastomycosis is a rare fungal infection caused by inhaling a fungus (Blastomyces dermatitidis), which is found in wood and soil.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors Return to top

Blastomycosis occurs most often in people living in the south-central and midwestern US and Canada. Exposure to soil is the key risk factor. The disease usually affects people with compromised immune systems, such as people with HIV or organ transplant recipients.

Men are more likely to be affected than women. Lung infection may produce no symptoms, but when the infection is widespread, skin lesions or bone lesions may appear and the urogenital system (bladder, kidney, prostate, testes) may be affected.

The incidence of blastomycosis is 1-2 out of every 100,000 people in geographic areas where blastomycosis occurs most frequently. It is even less common outside those areas.

Symptoms Return to top

Cough (the sputum may be brown or bloody)
Shortness of breath
Sweating
Fever
Fatigue
General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill-feeling (malaise)
Unintentional weight loss
Joint stiffness and joint pain
Muscular stiffness and pain
Rash
Skin lesions
Chest pain

Signs and tests Return to top

History of residence in relevant geographical area
Chest x-ray (may show nodules or pneumonia with cavities)
Tissue biopsy
Skin biopsy
Sputum culture and special stains

Treatment Return to top

Though not all blastomycosis infection in the lungs requires antibiotics, when the disease has spread outside of the lungs or become severe in the lungs, amphotericin B, itraconazole, or other antifungal agents may be prescribed. Periodic follow-up is recommended to detect any recurrence of the disease.

Expectations (prognosis) Return to top

Patients with limited skin lesions and relatively mild lung involvement usually recover completely. Untreated, more severe disease is progressive and can lead to death.

Complications Return to top

Large abscesses
Relapse or disease recurrence
Unpleasant side effects to drugs such as amphotericin B

Calling your health care provider Return to top

Call your health care provider if symptoms suggesting blastomycosis occur.

Prevention Return to top

Avoiding travel to areas where the disorder occurs will prevent exposure, but this is not practical for most people. Although other prevention is unknown, the disorder is rare except in people who are immunosuppressed.

Update Date: 7/8/2004

Updated by: Daniel Levy, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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