Re: Louisiana Fungi that infect human lungs

The most common fungal infection of the lungs, especially here in the Mississippi valley, is Histoplasmosis, a lung infection caused by the yeast stage of the soil fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. Pulmonary histoplasmosis is often misdiagnosed as tuberculosis: in fact, here in St. Louis it's used as a test for new doctors, to see if they can distinguish the two. Further South, where you are, there is also the danger of Pulmonary Blastomycosis, another yeast infection of the lungs, this time caused by the soil fungus, Blastomyces dermatitidis. Just as histoplasmosis is sometimes misdiagnosed as tuberculosis, blastomycosis is sometimes misdiagnosed as histoplasmosis. Finally, and much less common, is Pulmonary Cryptococcosis, caused by the yeast, Cryptococcus neoformans. Cryptococcosis in healthy individuals rarely presents as more than a mild cough and a low-grade fever; however, in immunosuppressed individuals, particularly people with AIDS, cryptococcosis can be life-threatening. There are a handful of other pathogenic yeasts that can infect the lungs, but histoplasmosis is by far the most common form of pulmonary yeast infections.