From the Research
The false statement about African Histoplasmosis is A) Pulmonary disease is common. African Histoplasmosis, caused by Histoplasma duboisii, primarily manifests as a cutaneous and osseous disease rather than a pulmonary infection. Unlike the more common Histoplasma capsulatum infection, H. duboisii rarely causes significant lung involvement. The organism is indeed transmitted through inhalation of microconidia from soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings, but after inhalation, it typically disseminates to skin, lymph nodes, and bones rather than establishing primary pulmonary disease. Some key points about African Histoplasmosis include:
- Caused by Histoplasma duboisii, as noted in 1
- Characterized by cutaneous/subcutaneous lesions, bone infections, and lymphadenopathies, as seen in 1
- Can affect bones, causing lytic lesions, as mentioned in 1, 2
- Skin abscesses and nodules are characteristic clinical manifestations, often appearing as painless subcutaneous masses that may ulcerate, as described in 3, 4
- The disease is endemic to central and western Africa, and diagnosis typically requires visualization of the characteristic large yeast forms (8-15 μm) in tissue samples or culture confirmation, as discussed in 5
- Treatment generally involves antifungal therapy with itraconazole or amphotericin B for severe cases, as recommended in 1, 3