Who can get histoplasmosis?
Anyone working at a job or present near activities where material contaminated with H. capsulatum becomes airborne can develop histoplasmosis if enough spores are inhaled. After an exposure, how ill a person becomes varies greatly and most likely depends on the number of spores inhaled and a person’s age and susceptibility to the disease. The number of inhaled spores needed to cause disease is unknown. Infants, young children, and older persons, in particular those with chronic lung disease, are at increased risk for developing symptomatic histoplasmosis. People with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for developing severe and disseminated histoplasmosis. Included in this high-risk group are persons with AIDS or cancer and persons receiving cancer chemotherapy; high-dose, long-term steroid therapy; or other immuno-suppressive drugs. A person can learn from a histoplasmin skin test whether he or she has been previously infected by H. capsulatum. This test, similar to a tubercu
