Blastomycosis

The term "South American blastomycosis" is sometimes used to describe an infection with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, though the term Paracoccidioidomycosis is more frequently used to describe this condition.

Blastomycosis (also known as "North American blastomycosis", "Blastomycetic dermatitis", and "Gilchrist's disease") is a fungal infection of humans and other animals, notably dogs and occasionally cats, caused by the organism Blastomyces dermatitidis. Endemic to portions of North America, blastomycosis causes clinical symptoms similar to histoplasmosis. The disease occurs in several endemic areas the most important of which is in eastern North America, particularly in the western and northern periphery of the Great Lakes Basin, extending eastward along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River Valley and southward in the territory spanned by the central Appalachian Mountains in the east, to the Mississippi River Valley in the west. Sporadic cases have been reported in continental Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent.