Outbreak
There are endemic areas in the United States for coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis, so the disease pattern varies. Endemic cases are predominantly in males, attributed to outdoor work and low protective equipment. In addition, hospitalization often occurs in the late stages of disease progression, and patients with early symptoms may not have presented. Fungal pathogens have a pronounced influence and significantly complicate life, so efforts should be directed to investigate the causes of the differences in disease demographics.
Clinical case: Histoplasmosis
Fungal diseases predominantly affect individuals with compromised immune systems because macrophages are their primary target. The risk of a severe course of the disease is related to ethnicity. For histoplasmosis, an ethnic correlation was found for 76% of cases: white races, AI/AN individuals, and Hispanics were most susceptible to the disease (Smith et al., 2022). More than half (61%) of histoplasmosis cases were detected early (Smith et al., 2022). The frequency of occurrence in males was 1.8; in females, 1.3 (Smith et al., 2022). The disease was predominantly found in the central and eastern United States.
Etiologic agent
Histoplasmosis causes an infectious disease, the first symptoms of which are not always noticeable to the patient. The infected may not associate their condition with the infection but only with fatigue or malaise. The fungus spores are very small, so during the incubation period, it is impossible to notice without a microscope and fully identify the organism. At the yeast stage, the infection is already active and contributes to pathological changes in the body.
Reference
Smith, D. J., Williams, S. L., Endemic Mycoses State Partners Group, Benedict, K. M., Jackson, B. R., & Toda, M. (2022). Surveillance for Coccidioidomycosis, Histoplasmosis, and Blastomycosis — United States, 2019. MMWR Surveill Summ 2022, 71(No. SS-7), 1–14. Web.