Facts and Stats About Histoplasmosis

Key points

  • Histoplasmosis is not a nationally reportable disease.
  • The average annual incidence is between 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 population.
  • Death rates are generally around 5%, though higher rates among adults have been reported.
illustration to represent a bar graph

Estimated trends

There are challenges in estimating statistics and trends on histoplasmosis. Not everyone that is exposed to Histoplasma gets sick and many cases go undiagnosed. It is reportable in 14 states.

People get histoplasmosis in certain areas in the United States particularly around Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Around 60-90% of people living in that area are exposed to Histoplasma in their lifetime.

Among states where histoplasmosis is reportable, average annual incidence is between 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 population. However, state-specific annual incidence ranges from 0 to 7 cases per 100,000 population according to recent surveillance data.

Death rates

Among people who are hospitalized with histoplasmosis, death rates generally range from 5% to 7%.

The overall mortality rate for histoplasmosis is likely lower than these estimates because these studies did not include patients who had less severe forms of the infection.

Print
Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
  • Manos NE, Ferebee SH, Kerschbaum WF. . Dis Chest. 1956 Jun;29(6):649-68.
  • Baddley JW, Winthrop KL, Patkar NM, Delzell E, Beukelman T, Xie F, et al. . Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Sep;17(9):1664-9.
  • Armstrong PA, Jackson BR, Haselow D, Fields V, Ireland M, Austin C, et al. . Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Mar;24(3):425-31.
  • Haddad NE, Powderly WG. . AIDS Read 2001;11:365-8, 75-8.
  • Colombo AL, Tobon A, Restrepo A, Queiroz-Telles F, Nucci M. . Med Mycol. 2011 Nov;49(8):785-98.
  • Benedict K, Mody RK. . Emerg Infect Dis 2016;22.
  • Wheat LJ, Slama TG, Eitzen HE, Kohler RB, French MLV, Biesecker JL. . Ann Intern Med. 1981;94(3):331-
  • ob体育. Outbreak of histoplasmosis among travelers returning from El Salvador–Pennsylvania and Virginia, 2008. MMWR. 2008 Dec 19;57(50):1349-53.
  • Lyon GM, Bravo AV, Espino A, Lindsley MD, Gutierrez RE, Rodriguez I, et al. . Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2004 Apr;70(4):438-42.
  • Brodsky AL, Gregg MB, Loewenstein MS, Kaufman L, Mallison GF. . Am J Med. 1973 Mar;54(3):333-42.
  • Chamany S, Mirza SA, Fleming JW, Howell JF, Lenhart SW, Mortimer VD, et al. . Pediatr Infect Dis 2004 Oct;23(10):909-14.
  • Chu JH, Feudtner C, Heydon K, Walsh TJ, Zaoutis TE. . Clin Infect Dis. 2006 Mar 15;42(6):822-5.
  • Ledtke C, Tomford JW, Jain A, Isada CM, van Duin D. . J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Feb;60(2):265-70.