Is there a vaccine against blastomycosis?
At present, there is no available vaccine for blastomycosis in animals or people. Serious clinical disease in humans is not common. For example, there are approximately 50 to 60 cases of human blastomycosis reported each year in Wisconsin. The disease appears to be much more common and severe in dogs, with there being probably 10 to 100 fold more cases each year in dogs than in humans in Wisconsin. Even this figure could be an underestimate, since owners will likely only seek veterinary care when their dogs develop significant pulmonary disease or some other clinical manifestation (eye or skin infection). Thus, subclinical B. dermatitidis infection may go unrecognized and unreported. There are experimental vaccines that have been developed and tested in lab animals. Some of these will protect against experimental challenge in mice, but at present there is no approved vaccine available that will protect against naturally acquired infection in dogs or people.
