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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffSeveral tpes of histoplasmosis exist, ranging from mild to life-threatening. The most benign form produces no signs or symptoms, but severe infections can cause serious problems throughout your body as well as in your lungs. When signs and symptoms do occur, they usually appear three to 17 days after exposure.
Mild to moderate cases
Asymptomatic primary histoplasmosis. This is the most common form of histoplasmosis and usually causes no signs or symptoms in otherwise healthy people who become infected. The only sign of infection may be small scars in the lungs. In that case, special radiologic testing can usually confirm that nodules aren't cancerous.
Acute symptomatic pulmonary histoplasmosis. This form of histoplasmosis tends to occur in otherwise healthy people who have had intense exposure to H. capsulatum. Because the severity of the disease depends on the number of fungus spores inhaled, reactions may range from a brief period of not feeling well to serious illness. Typical signs and symptoms include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Dry cough
- Chills
- Chest pain
- Weight loss
- Sweats
In some cases, arthritis or pericarditis — an inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart — may develop weeks or months after the initial infection. These problems aren't a sign that the infection has spread outside your lungs. Instead, they develop because your immune system responds to the fungus with an unusual amount of inflammation.
On the other end of the spectrum, people who have inhaled a large number of spores may develop severe acute pulmonary syndrome, a potentially life-threatening condition in which breathing becomes difficult. Acute pulmonary syndrome is frequently referred to as spelunker's lung because it often occurs after intense exposure to bat excrement stirred up by explorers in caves.
Moderate to severe
Chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis. This type of histoplasmosis usually affects people with an underlying lung disease such as emphysema. It's most common in white, middle-aged men. The disease is chronic and if left untreated may progress to disabling lung problems. Signs and symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Night sweats
- A cough that may bring up blood
Disseminated histoplasmosis. Occurring primarily in infants and people with compromised immune systems, disseminated histoplasmosis can affect nearly any part of the body, including your eyes, liver, bone marrow, skin, adrenal glands and intestinal tract. Untreated disseminated histoplasmosis is usually fatal. Depending on which organs are affected, people with this form of the disease may develop:
- Anemia
- Pneumonia
- Pericarditis
- Meningitis
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Ulcers of the mouth, tongue or intestinal tract
