What is Blastomycosis or Gilchrist's Disease?

Blastomycosis is a disease that is caused by a fungus. The fungus is called Blastomyces dermatitidis and the disease is most commonly found in people who live in the Midwest and South-central part of the United States. This article provides a basic overview of the condition, as well as information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

Blastomycosis appears in about 1-2 people out of every 100,000 annually and is usually just a concern in areas where the fungus lives. Outside of those areas, the incidence of the disease is even lower. The fungus lives in the soil and when inhaled, it usually affects the skin and lungs of a person infected. The disease is more likely to affect those people who have weakened immune systems and affects more men than women.

Symptoms may include a cough and/or shortness of breath and trouble breathing, a fever, sweating, tiredness and fatigue, muscle and joint stiffness, weight loss, and general illness. When the skin is affected, lesions appear on the face, arms, hands, and feet and begin as small tumors which then enlarge, suppurate, ulcerate, and heal with a crusting at the center.

In order to positively diagnosis blastomycosis, a chest X-ray may be performed, along with a tissue and/or skin biopsy. Treatment will be determined based on the severity and how the disease has presented itself.

If a blastomycosis infection remains in the lungs, there may be no need for medication or treatment unless it becomes increasingly severe. For other cases of the disease, or for cases that are more severe, there are several medications that a doctor may prescribe to treat the infection. If the disease is mild to moderate and the patient seeks treatment, a full recovery can be expected. Without treatment, some severe cases of blastomycosis have been known to be fatal.

If any of these symptoms appear and a person either lives in an area where the fungus exists, or has traveled to an area where blastomycosis is likely to exist, a doctor should be consulted to determine if the disease is present and the severity. The only known means of prevention is to avoid living or traveling in areas where the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis is known to occur.

For those interested in finding out more about blastomycosis, the United States Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have an online resource called Medline Plus. This website provides information and details about a variety of health and medical concerns. The page found at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000102.htm is an encyclopedia page dedicated to blastomycosis. This page includes information, a color image of the photo causing this condition and links to other online resources and articles.