CDC Characterizes National Incidence of Fungal Infections

THURSDAY, Aug. 18, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis cause substantial illness, with about 20,000 cases of coccidioidomycosis reported in 2019, according to research published in the Aug. 19 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Dallas J. Smith, Pharm.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues characterized the national incidence of coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis in 2019. Cases of coccidioidomycosis were tracked by the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, and histoplasmosis and blastomycosis cases were voluntarily reported in 13 and five states, respectively.

The researchers found 20,061 cases of confirmed coccidioidomycosis in 2019, 1,124 confirmed and probable cases of histoplasmosis, and 240 confirmed and probable cases of blastomycosis reported to the CDC. Ninety-seven percent of coccidioidomycosis cases were reported in Arizona and California, while 75 percent of blastomycosis cases were reported in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The greatest percentage of histoplasmosis cases was reported in Illinois (26 percent). All three diseases occurred more frequently among men, with the proportion higher for blastomycosis than histoplasmosis or coccidioidomycosis (70 percent versus 56 and 52 percent, respectively). The incidence of coccidioidomycosis was higher for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native persons and for Hispanic/Latino persons compared with non-Hispanic Whites (17.3 and 11.2, respectively, versus 4.1 per 100,000 population). More than half of histoplasmosis and blastomycosis cases were hospitalized (54 and 65 percent, respectively); 5 and 9 percent of patients died, respectively.

"National surveillance of coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and blastomycosis can be improved and expanded to include more states and data elements," the authors write.

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