Causes of blastomycosis
Learn about the causes of blastomycosis and how it is spread.
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What causes blastomycosis?
Blastomycosis is a lung infection typically caused by a fungus that grows in moist:
- soil
- leaves
- rotting wood
It can also spread to the skin and other parts of the body.
Mushrooms, mould and mildew are examples of funguses. The fungus that causes blastomycosis grows as:
- a mould in the environment
- yeast in human tissue
- it also grows as yeast in the tissue of different mammals, such as dogs and cats
How is blastomycosis spread?
Blastomycosis is spread when you breathe in small particles of the fungus into your lungs. The particles settle into air sacs in your lungs, where they develop into yeast and cause swelling.
The yeast can then spread through your blood to other parts of your body.
Blastomycosis does not spread from:
- person to person
- animals to people