BLASTOMYCES-DERMATITIDIS
Known as : BLASTOMYCES
About: Pathogenic Fungus
Microscope: Thread like yeast cells which reproduce and form short stalks.
What can it do: Blastomyces infects some people with no consequences but it has the potential to cause very serious illness and over the long term – death. It can affect the whole body. It enters the body by being inhaled into the lungs. Blastomyces may take some time to show symptoms, from 3 and up to 15 weeks after being exposed to the fungus. Mostly the lungs and skin are affected but in serious cases blastomyces may spread to other parts of the body like the organs and bones.
Help: Blastomyces has to be treated by a doctor or in hospital and the doctor will prescribe anti fungal medications. Some alternatives to medical intervention include changing the persons diet to create an environment in the person's body in which the fungus cannot survive. Either way, medical advice needs to be taken as no treatment can lead to death
Infectious rating: Blastomyces is picked up from soil which contains items such as wood, animal droppings and plant materials. Any activity which means that soil is disrupted, such as if you are working outdoors, chopping and collecting firewood, home construction projects can expose a person to the fungus. Blastomyces is not known to be passed from person to person, but it can infect people and animals who have entered a contaminated environment.
I feel sick: Blastomyces affects the lungs but can affect the skin and even the organs and central nervous system of the body.
Lung symptoms:
Dry cough, sweating, fever, and feeling ill and very tired.
Skin symptoms:
Bumps which eventually become small, white crusted blisters filled with pus. The skin breaks and the abscesses cannot heal.
Rest of the body
If Blastomyces has spread, it can cause pain in the bones, and the central nervous system as well as causing problems with the liver, spleen, heart, adrenal glands, digestive system, and lymph nodes
GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS
Blastomyces is rare and only affects about 4 people out of every 100,000 people. It is more common in men than women and the most likely age is between 30-50 years. People with compromised or weak immune systems can be at risk from developing the disease blastomycosis which comes from the blastomyces fungus. There are different strains of blastomyces and they can be found in Southeast of the America and Southern Canada as well as central America, (also known also as Gilchrist's disease). Dogs can also be affected by a canine version of blastomycosis but people cannot catch the disease from their infected dog except very very rare exceptions when the dog has bitten a person. The disease in South America, is very different from the disease found in North America.