Fungi native to soils in the southwestern states can be hard to recognize well enough to diagnose, and two of them are frequently mistaken for each other in the overlap area and mistreated. Complications can be debilitating.
Valley fever, or Coccidioidomycosis, results from inhalation of the spores. As wiki notes: Some patients fail to recover and develop chronic pulmonary infection or widespread disseminated infection (affecting meninges, soft tissues, joints, and bone). Severe pulmonary disease may develop in HIV-infected persons.
Histoplasmosis is also called cave disease, chicken coops and bat guano is a great substrate.. Wiki notes: It is endemic in certain areas of the United States, particularly in states bordering the Ohio River valley and the lower Mississippi River. The humidity and acidity patterns of soil are associated with endemicity. Bird and bat droppings in soil promote growth of Histoplasma. Contact with such soil aerosolizes the microconidia, which can infect humans. It is also common in caves in southern and East Africa. Positive histoplasmin skin tests occur in as many as 90% of the people living in areas where H. capsulatum is common, such as the eastern and central United States.
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Valley fever, or Coccidioidomycosis, results from inhalation of the spores. As wiki notes: Some patients fail to recover and develop chronic pulmonary infection or widespread disseminated infection (affecting meninges, soft tissues, joints, and bone). Severe pulmonary disease may develop in HIV-infected persons.
Histoplasmosis is also called cave disease, chicken coops and bat guano is a great substrate.. Wiki notes: It is endemic in certain areas of the United States, particularly in states bordering the Ohio River valley and the lower Mississippi River. The humidity and acidity patterns of soil are associated with endemicity. Bird and bat droppings in soil promote growth of Histoplasma. Contact with such soil aerosolizes the microconidia, which can infect humans. It is also common in caves in southern and East Africa. Positive histoplasmin skin tests occur in as many as 90% of the people living in areas where H. capsulatum is common, such as the eastern and central United States.