Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Histoplasmosis
Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by a fungus called Histoplasma. This fungus is common in the central and eastern United States, especially around the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. It can also be found in parts of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It lives in the environment, especially in soil that contains large amounts of bat or bird droppings (poop).
You get histoplasmosis by breathing in Histoplasma fungal spores from the air. It usually happens after you have been doing an activity that disturbs the soil, such as farming, construction, and landscaping. Histoplasmosis is not contagious. This means that you cannot get the infection from another person or an animal.
Most people who breathe in the spores never have any symptoms. If you do get symptoms, they usually start between 3 and 17 days after you breathe in the spores. The symptoms may include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Fatigue
- Chills
- Headache
- Chest pain
- Body aches
For most people, the symptoms of histoplasmosis will go away within a few weeks to a month. However, some people can have symptoms that last longer, especially if their infection becomes severe. Certain people are more likely to get a severe infection:
- People who have weakened immune systems, for example from: Having HIV
- Having had an organ transplant
- Taking medicines which weaken your immune system, such as chemotherapy and steroids
Severe histoplasmosis can develop into a long-term lung infection. It can also spread from the lungs to other parts of the body, such as the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). This is known as disseminated histoplasmosis.
To find out if you have histoplasmosis, your health care provider:
- Will ask about your symptoms and your medical and travel history
- Will do a physical exam
- Will likely order a blood, urine, or tissue test to look for signs of the fungus
- May order a chest x-ray or CT scan of the lungs
For some people, the symptoms of histoplasmosis will go away without treatment. But you will need treatment if you have severe histoplasmosis in the lungs, chronic histoplasmosis, or an infection that has spread to other parts of the body. That treatment would be with prescription antifungal medicines. In some cases, you may need to take the medicines for 3 months to 1 year.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Infections.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Histoplasmosis
31 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Efficacy and Safety of High-dose Liposomal Amphotericin B for Disseminated Histoplasmosis in AIDSFederal University of Health Science of Porto Alegre
- A Prospective Longitudinal Analysis of Faricimab (Vabysmo 6mg) For Choroidal Neovascularization in Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis SyndromeCincinnati Eye Institute, Southwest Ohio
- Histoplasmosis Induction and Consolidation Therapy Factorial Randomized Clinical Trial (Histo-FACT)University of Minnesota
Research already completed
- Randomized Trial of Liposomal Amphotericin B for Histoplasmosis in AIDS PatientsAlessandro Pasqualotto
- Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Ibrexafungerp in Patients With Fungal Diseases That Are Refractory to or Intolerant of Standard Antifungal TreatmentScynexis, Inc.
- Prevalence of Histoplasmosis in HIV + Patients with a Rapid Diagnostic Test in West IndiesANRS, Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Endemic Mycoses Treatment With SUBA-itraconazole vs ItraconazoleUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham
- A Study of Itraconazole in the Treatment and Prevention of Histoplasmosis, a Fungal Infection, in Patients With AIDSNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Pilot Study to Determine the Feasibility of Fluconazole for Induction Treatment and Suppression of Relapse of Histoplasmosis in Patients With the Acquired Immunodeficiency SyndromeNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- About HistoplasmosisCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- HistoplasmosisMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- What is Histoplasmosis?American Academy of Ophthalmology
Diagnosis and Tests
- Fungal Culture TestNational Library of Medicine
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Reducing Risk for HistoplasmosisCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Statistics and Research
- Facts and Stats about HistoplasmosisCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: HistoplasmosisNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Histoplasmosis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Histoplasmosis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.