Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
14:10
Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination
Published on: July 4, 2007
Histoplasmosis in children: emerging insights and evolving guidelines
Kate Shapiro1, Sandra R Arnold
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
|August 7, 2026
Summary
Histoplasmosis, a fungal infection, has a wider range than previously thought. Most cases are self-limiting, but severe infections require liposomal amphotericin B and itraconazole, with rituximab showing promise for complications.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonology
- Mycology
Background:
- Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection caused by Histoplasma capsulatum.
- It can present with varied clinical manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe disseminated disease.
- Recent advancements have refined our understanding of its epidemiology and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an updated review on histoplasmosis.
- Incorporate recent epidemiological data and management guidelines, including those from the Infectious Disease Society of America.
- Cover epidemiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent publications.
- Analysis of updated epidemiological data.
- Synthesis of current Infectious Disease Society of America guidelines.
Main Results:
- Histoplasmosis epidemiology shows a broader geographic distribution.
- Asymptomatic, mild, and moderate pulmonary histoplasmosis generally do not require treatment.
- Severe pulmonary and disseminated histoplasmosis necessitate initial treatment with liposomal amphotericin B.
- Fibrosing mediastinitis is a complication treated with stenting; rituximab shows potential for managing progressive fibrosis.
Conclusions:
- Many histoplasmosis manifestations are self-limited and asymptomatic, not requiring treatment.
- Severe histoplasmosis and its complications warrant treatment with liposomal amphotericin B followed by itraconazole.
- Further clinical trials are essential to evaluate rituximab's efficacy in treating fibrosing mediastinitis.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
01:29Malaria
Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...