What is Histoplasmosis?
It is an infectious disease caught by inhaling the spores of the histoplasmosis capsulation fungus. While it is not contagious, the disease can affect a wide variety of the population who may not even be aware they are at risk.
Should I be concerned about getting histoplasmosis?
Anyone can get histoplasmosis. There are, however, certain people whose occupations make the risk of exposure greater than others. Included in that group are chimney cleaners, construction workers, gardeners, HVAC installers or repair people, roofers, and, of course spelunkers (cave explorers). In reality, however, anyone who comes across the fungus can get histoplasmosis.
But I’ve never touched or been bitten by a bat. So how could I get it?
It’s easier than you might think. Bats become infected with histoplasmosis, and their feces contain the histoplasmosis fungus. This fungus grows in the soil where the droppings land, or in the droppings found in an attic occupied by bats. The fungus then continues to grow, just waiting for you or me to come along to clean out the old barn, the attic, or other place where the spores now lie.
Or sometimes, we disturb the dirt (cleaning up the garden, sweeping out the empty building, or doing other seemingly harmless dirty work), causing the spores to become airborne. When we breathe that air, we then become infected with the histoplasmosis fungus and the real trouble begins.
I don’t do that kind of work. I shouldn’t have to worry about that, right?
Not really. In fact, in 1970, several hundred middle school students developed histoplasmosis, simply because they breathed the spores through their school ventilation system over the few days following a “clean up” of the school’s courtyard as an Earth Day project. Even those children who were not present at the clean up were exposed to the spores over the next few days and came down with histoplasmosis. It was later determined that the spores were spread through the school’s ventilation system.