Histoplasmosis

A rare mycosis characterized by granulomatous inflammation primarily of the lung after inhalation of spores of <i>Histoplasma capsulatum</i>. 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.