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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffAnyone exposed to H. capsulatum is likely to become infected. People who inhale a huge number of spores — those who work with heavily infected soil or have close contact with bats, for example — are more likely to develop signs and symptoms.
Most at risk of infection
- Farmers
- Poultry keepers, especially when cleaning chicken coops, pigeon roosts, and bat-infested barns or lofts
- Construction workers, especially those who work around old buildings with roosting birds
- Landscapers and gardeners
- People involved in building roads
- People who monitor bird populations or who have contact with bats or bat caves
- Archeologists
- Geologists
Most at risk of severe infection
Because their immune systems are weakened, the following people are most likely to develop disseminated histoplasmosis, the more serious form of the disease:
- Infants and very young children.
- Older adults. The risk of disseminated histoplasmosis increases with age.
- HIV-positive people or those with AIDS.
- People receiving chemotherapy or long-term treatment with corticosteroid drugs such as prednisone.
- People who have had organ transplants and are taking anti-rejection medications.
