A fungus you breathe in while digging

Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by a fungus, Histoplasma. It is
common in the central and eastern United States, especially around the
Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, and also occurs in parts of Central
and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

It lives in the environment — particularly in **soil containing large amounts
of bat or bird droppings**.

How you get it

By breathing in fungal spores from the air, usually after an activity that
disturbs the soil: farming, construction, landscaping.

It is not contagious. You cannot catch it from another person or an
animal — which means a cluster of cases points to a place that was dug up, not
to someone who passed it on.

Symptoms, if any

Most people who breathe in the spores never have symptoms at all. Where
they appear, they start 3 to 17 days after exposure:

Fever · cough · fatigue · chills · headache · chest pain · body aches

For most people these clear within a few weeks to a month.

Who gets it badly

Some people have symptoms that last longer, especially if the infection
becomes severe. More likely to get a severe infection:

• People with weakened immune systems — from HIV, an organ transplant, or
  medicines such as chemotherapy and steroids
• Infants
• Adults 55 and over

Severe histoplasmosis can become a long-term lung infection, or spread
from the lungs to other parts of the body including the brain and spinal
cord — disseminated histoplasmosis.

Diagnosis and treatment

A provider will ask about symptoms and your medical and travel history, do
a physical exam, and likely order a blood, urine or tissue test for signs of
the fungus, possibly with a chest x-ray or CT scan.

For some people symptoms resolve without treatment. Treatment is needed for
severe histoplasmosis in the lungs, chronic histoplasmosis, or an infection
that has spread — prescription antifungal medicines, which in some cases
must be taken for 3 months to a year.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, via MedlinePlus.