Blastomyces spp.

Paul G. Auwaerter, M.D.
Blastomyces spp. is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins ABX Guide.

To view the entire topic, please or .

Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:

-- The first section of this topic is shown below --

MICROBIOLOGY

  • Thermally dimorphic fungus: mycelial in nature (room temperature) and yeast in tissue (37°C).
  • Yeast form is 8 x 30 micron with broad-based budding [Fig 1], differentiates from Histoplasma narrow-based budding.
  • Fungus especially found in moist, acid soils in forests, decomposing matter.
  • Blastomycosis:
    • Blastomyces dermatiditis: usually strikes immunocompetent people.
    • B.gilchristii
    • B. helicus (previously Emmonsia helicus): this organism does not appear to produce conidia. Described to date as a rare cause of often disseminated human infection in the Western U.S., Rocky Mountains, Western Canada, and in immunocompromised hosts--differentiating from B. dermatitidis[2].
      • Cutaneous findings not yet described with this species.
      • This species may be misdiagnosed as H. capsulatum or B. dermatitidis.

-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please or --

MICROBIOLOGY

  • Thermally dimorphic fungus: mycelial in nature (room temperature) and yeast in tissue (37°C).
  • Yeast form is 8 x 30 micron with broad-based budding [Fig 1], differentiates from Histoplasma narrow-based budding.
  • Fungus especially found in moist, acid soils in forests, decomposing matter.
  • Blastomycosis:
    • Blastomyces dermatiditis: usually strikes immunocompetent people.
    • B.gilchristii
    • B. helicus (previously Emmonsia helicus): this organism does not appear to produce conidia. Described to date as a rare cause of often disseminated human infection in the Western U.S., Rocky Mountains, Western Canada, and in immunocompromised hosts--differentiating from B. dermatitidis[2].
      • Cutaneous findings not yet described with this species.
      • This species may be misdiagnosed as H. capsulatum or B. dermatitidis.

There's more to see -- the rest of this topic is available only to subscribers.

Last updated: March 5, 2019