Tennessee Probes 35‑Case Histoplasmosis Cluster in Two Counties

Tennessee health officials are investigating more than 35 cases of histoplasmosis, a potentially deadly lung infection caused by the soil fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, identified over a three‑month span in Maury and Williamson counties. At a Jan. 12 briefing to the Williamson County Board of Commissioners, state epidemiologists said the patients have a median age of 50, several have been hospitalized and some are critically ill, but they have not yet confirmed the infection as the direct cause of any deaths despite one family’s claim that a woman died after a positive test. The fungus is linked to soil contaminated by bird or bat droppings, with infection occurring when people inhale airborne spores, and officials say they have not yet found a single common exposure source. Because symptoms such as fever, cough, fatigue, headache, chills and chest pain can mimic colds or flu, the CDC warns the disease is often missed or misdiagnosed, posing higher risks for people with weakened immune systems who can develop chronic lung disease or meningitis. Tennessee health authorities are urging clinicians to test suspected cases using blood, urine or respiratory samples and advising residents to limit activities that disturb soil and to consider masks during high‑risk outdoor work.