Histoplasmosis, Blastomycosis and Cryptococcosis in Canada

Published: September 10th, 2007

Revised: July 21st, 2014

Overview

Canada includes defined regions that are natural habitat areas for three fungal species that can cause serious disease in otherwise-healthy, immunologically normal people.   These fungi are Blastomyces dermatitidis (referred to in medical slang as ‘blasto’), causal agent of the disease blastomycosis, Histoplasma capsulatum (‘histo’), causal agent of histoplasmosis, and Cryptococcus gattii (‘tropical crypto’), causal agent of tropical-type cryptococcosis. The primary task of the present review was to generate workable information that home occupants and owners could use to reduce the probability of infection by these fungi in areas where they are known to occur.

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