An Outbreak of Blastomycosis on a United States Indian Reservation

Abstract

Blastomycosis is a potentially fatal systemic and cutaneous fungal infection of humans, dogs, and other animals that occurs in an expanding region of eastern North America and in parts of Africa and India, including many wilderness areas. Except for rare inoculation cases, spores of the dimorphic etiologic fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis are inhaled from the environment and transformed to yeast in the lung, where symptomatic or asymptomatic disease may occur. Variable dissemination to other organs may follow.