Symptoms of Blastomycosis
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Night sweats.
- Muscle aches or joint pain.
- Weight loss.
- Chest pain.
- Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
Is blastomycosis curable?
Most people will need antifungal treatment for blastomycosis. Most people with blastomycosis will need treatment with prescription antifungal medication. Itraconazole is a type of antifungal medication that is typically used to treat mild to moderate blastomycosis.
Is blastomycosis serious?
Blastomycosis is an uncommon, but potentially serious fungal infection. It primarily affects the lungs, and is caused by the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. The signs and symptoms of illness that can result from exposure to this soil organism are variable. Approximately 50% of people who are infected with B.
What parts of the body does blastomycosis affect?
Blastomyces enters the body through the lungs and causes a lung infection, usually pneumonia. From the lungs, the fungus can spread to other areas of the body including your skin, bones, joints and central nervous system. This disease is rare and more commonly affects people involved with outdoor activities.
What does blastomycosis do to the lungs?
When Blastomycosis affects the lungs, which are common sites of fungal involvement, it usually takes the form of chronic pneumonia. Symptoms may include a cough ccompanied by thick sputum, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and/or rapid heartbeat.
Who is at risk of blastomycosis?
Blastomycosis is caused by a dimorphic (has two forms) fungus termed Blastomyces dermatitidis. Risk factors include immunocompromised patients, and traveling or living in densely wooded areas.
Can blastomycosis be fatal?
Blastomycosis is a potentially fatal fungal infection endemic to parts of North America.
How do you get rid of fungus in your lungs?
Antifungal drugs: These medications are generally used to treat invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Voriconazole is currently the drug of choice because it causes fewer side effects and appears to be more effective than other medications. Amphotericin B or itraconazole are also effective in treating infection.
Can blastomycosis be in your home?
The organism has been isolated from an inhabited yard and from a house being razed. Conclusions: There appears to be growing evidence that blastomycosis may be acquired at home, and that B. dermatitidis may be relatively persistent on certain properties.
How contagious is blastomycosis?
Is blastomycosis contagious? No. Blastomycosis can’t spread between people or between people and animals.
How common is blastomycosis in humans?
How common is blastomycosis? Overall, blastomycosis is uncommon. Most cases occur in the United States and Canada. In states where blastomycosis is reportable, yearly incidence rates are approximately 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 population.
How do you get Paracoccidioidomycosis?
People get paracoccidioidomycosis after breathing in the fungus Paracoccidioides from the environment in certain parts of Central and South America. Paracoccidioidomycosis does not spread from person to person.
In what part of the United States is blastomycosis endemic?
Blastomycosis. Blastomycosis is considered endemic to the south-central, southeastern, and midwestern US states, particularly those bordering the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and in parts of the United States and Canada surrounding the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River (2,5).
Can you see blastomycosis?
Blastomyces lives in the environment as a mold that produces fungal spores. The spores are too small to see without a microscope.
How do you diagnose blastomycosis?
Diagnosis and testing for Blastomycosis
A doctor will likely test for blastomycosis by taking a blood sample or a urine sample and sending it to a laboratory. Healthcare providers may do imaging tests such as chest x-rays or CT scans of your lungs.
What is the mortality rate of blastomycosis?
Mortality associated with blastomycosis is rare, with an estimated age-adjusted mortality rate of 0.21 per 1 million person-years (2).
Where is Blasto most common?
Blastomycosis occurs most often in people living in Ontario, Manitoba, and the south-central, south-eastern, and the mid-western United States.
Is blastomycosis a skin infection?
A skin lesion of blastomycosis is a symptom of an infection with the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. The skin becomes infected as the fungus spreads throughout the body. Another form of blastomycosis is only on the skin and usually gets better on its own with time.
How can you protect yourself from blastomycosis?
Simple precautions include wearing work gloves, proper footwear, long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a disposable NIOSH N100 approved HEPA filter dust mask. The symptoms of blastomycosis can be similar to those of influenza or pneumonia.
Can blastomycosis cause blindness?
Eyes: Redness, discharge, swelling, squinting, elevation of the third eyelid, and blindness. Blasto can cause inflammation inside of the eye as well, leading to retinal detachment and glaucoma (see glaucoma handout). Oftentimes, ocular disease is the only sign of infection with Blastomyces.
What does blastomycosis look like on xray?
This is the most common presentation of blastomycosis. Lung opacities may be patchy or confluent and subsegmental or nonsegmental. Chest radiograph demonstrates a spiculated mass overlying the left hilum. This radiographic finding mimics that of bronchogenic carcinoma; thus, a biopsy is needed for tissue diagnosis.
Can I get blastomycosis from my dog?
Disease is not spread from animal to animal and is not contagious. Blastomycosis infections in other animals (e.g. cats) are rare.
Is cryptococcosis a fungal infection?
Cryptococcus neoformans is a fungus that lives in the environment throughout the world. People can become infected with C. neoformans after breathing in the microscopic fungus, although most people who are exposed to the fungus never get sick from it.