What happens in a blastomycosis infection?
What happens in a blastomycosis infection?
Blastomycosis is an infectious disease characterized by fever, chills, headaches, chest pain, weight loss, night sweats, cough, and/or difficulty breathing (dyspnea). Some affected individuals do not experience these symptoms although they are actively infected (asymptomatic).
Can blastomycosis spread from person to person?
Is blastomycosis contagious? No. Blastomycosis can’t spread between people or between people and animals.
Why is blastomycosis called Gilchrist disease?
The thermally dimorphic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis causes blastomycosis, one of the mycoses that is endemic in North America. This illness previously was called Gilchrist’s disease in honor of the man who first recognized it in Baltimore, MD, in 1894 (51).
How long can you live with blastomycosis?
Those patients diagnosed and treated appropriately usually have a good outcome although they need to take medications for many months. Immunosuppressed patients with blastomycosis have outcomes that range from good to poor. Although some may recover completely, the mortality rate (death rate) is about 29%.
What happens if blastomycosis goes untreated?
People can get blastomycosis after breathing in the microscopic fungal spores from the air. Although most people who breathe in the spores don’t get sick, some people will develop symptoms like fever and cough, and the infection can sometimes become serious if it is not treated.
How can you tell if you have blastomycosis?
Symptoms of Blastomycosis
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Night sweats.
- Muscle aches or joint pain.
- Weight loss.
- Chest pain.
- Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
How do you know if you have blastomycosis?
Muscle aches or joint pain. Weight loss. Chest pain. Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
What are the symptoms of blastomycosis in humans?
Symptoms of Blastomycosis
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Night sweats.
- Muscle aches or joint pain.
- Weight loss.
- Chest pain.
- Fatigue (extreme tiredness)
Can blastomycosis be cured?
How is blastomycosis treated? 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 there a cure for blastomycosis?
How does a person get blastomycosis?
What does blastomycosis look like on xray?
Chest CT image reveals patchy, dense lung opacification in the right middle and lower lobes. 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.
