What does Blastomycosis Look Like?
The portions of the human and canine body the fungus likes to call home include the lungs and the skinalthough it can spread to other tissues and bone. The thin slice of culture on the slide holds tightly packed clusters that vary in size and density. Granular nodules in the lungs sometimes are the first signs of an internal presence discernable through tests such as sputum analysis and X-ray diagnosis. Bald patches in hairy areassuch as on a dog’s head or coatmay indicate the disease’s external hello. Human skin also can erupt in crusty, reddened lesions and human lungslike dog lungsmake fine incubators for the disease. How is Blastomycosis Transmitted? Blastomycosis takes hold after a person or an animal inhales spores of Blastomyces dermatitidis. It also gets a grip when a dog or a person with an open sore or a laceration comes in direct contact with the fungus. In nature, the soil-borne organisms multiply much like mushrooms reproducedischarging microscopic clouds of ripened spores
