Histoplasmosis

A rare mycosis characterized by granulomatous inflammation primarily of the lung after inhalation of spores of Histoplasma capsulatum. The severity of clinical disease depends on the immune status of the individual and the size of the inoculum. In immunocompetent persons, the infection usually takes a self-limiting and asymptomatic or relatively mild, flu-like course. In immunocompromised patients, it can become progressive and disseminated, involving multiple organs and presenting with fever, pneumonia, hepatosplenomegaly, skin infiltrates, and endocarditis, among others.