Blastomycosis, a dangerous fungal infection

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Blastomycosis

Introductory Article
My Blastomycosis Story
Dr G's 2 slide culture
Blastomycosis Images
Blastomycosis Medical Literature
Reflections on an Illness

Fungal Diseases Main Page

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Airborne Fungal Infections

Blastomycosis

Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungus endemic to Canada and the United States. Infection by blastomyces is difficult to recognize even in areas where physicians are aware of this problem. Infection usually begins in the respiratory tract. The illness resembles influenza or pneumonia. Acute blastomycosis is often misdiagnosed as bacterial pneumonia and is treated with antibiotics with no benefit.

Lung lesions that resemble tuberculosis or cancer may appear and lead to further misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Lesions in the trachea and larynx are nodular and may be diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma unless a biopsy is performed and interpreted correctly.

Blastomycosis can spread to any tissue of the body.

In an endemic area, where blastomycosis was known, only 18% of 123 patients at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson, MS) blastomycosis were correctly diagnosed at the initial patient evaluation. Pneumonia (40%), malignant tumors (16%) and tuberculosis (14%) were the most common misdiagnoses. The false first impression frequently resulted in unnecessary surgeries or treatment delays, with patients receiving inefficient antibiotic therapy sometimes for months. Sometimes the diagnosis was made in the autopsy room.

Adapted from The US CDC Description of Blastomycosis

Clinical Features	Infection presents as a flu-like illness with fever, chest pain, cough, aching, fatigue, weight loss. Some patients fail to recover and develop chronic pulmonary infection or widespread disseminated infection (affecting the skin, bones, and genitourinary tract). Occasionally, the brain becomes infected.
Cause	Blastomyces dermatitidis.
Source	Moist soil enriched with decomposing organic debris. Endemic in parts of the south-central, south-eastern and mid-western United States and in several regions of Canada. Localized areas of Central and South America and parts of Africa.
Sequelae	Permanent lung damage with chronic disease. Mortality rate is about 5%.
Transmission	Inhalation of airborne spores after disturbance of contaminated soil.
Risk Groups	Persons in areas with endemic disease with exposures to wooded sites (e.g., farmers, construction and forestry workers, hunters, and campers).

A standard recommendation for quick diagnosis is sputum microscopy….” a simple and inexpensive test that has a high diagnostic yield of more than 75% in patients with a pneumonic presentation. Place a small sample of freshly expectorated sputum on a slide and digest it with drops of potassium hydroxide. Cover it with a cover slip and examine it under a microscope. Yeasts, 8-20 micrometers in size, with single, broad-based buds, double refractile walls, and multiple nuclei are characteristic of B dermatitidis. This permits the physician to begin treatment without delay.”

I diagnosed my own infection by sputum microscopy and devloped a novel 2-slide culture method, described in this report.

See My Blastomycosis Story
Reflections on an Illness
Dr G's 2 slide culture
Blastomycosis Images
Blastomycosis Abstracts

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