Taken from https://microbiologyinfo.com/histoplasma-capsulatum/#:~:text=has%20been%20cleared.

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Histoplasma Capsulatum – Habitat,

Morphology, Epidemiology, Virulence
Factors, Treatment + More

Habitat
 is a dimorphic ascomycete that grows in its hyphal
Histoplasma capsulatum
form in soil and bird and bat guano.
 The natural habitat of capsulatum is the soil and has also been recovered
most frequently from soil material contaminated with bird or bat
droppings.
 Unlike bats, birds do not become infected with capsulatum and their
droppings serve as a nutrient source for the fungus which already
present in the soil.
 Bats are capable of depositing capsulatum with their droppings and can
distribute the fungus to distant from an existing natural source.
 The fungus has been found in poultry house litter, caves, areas
harboring bats, and in bird roosts.
 Soil samples from sites where birds have roosted have been found to
remain contaminated for at least 10 years even after the roost has been
cleared.

Morphology
 capsulatumis a thermally dimorphic fungus which exists as a mycelial form
at ambient temperatures and grows as small round budding yeast cells
at body temperature in mammals.
  There are two varieties of capsulatum recognized: var. capsulatum and
var. duboisii where H. capsulatum var duboisii is the cause of African
histoplasmosis.
 The two varieties are indistinguishable in their mould forms, but there is
a difference in their parasitic forms.
 The cells of the tissue form of duboisii are much larger and comprised of
thicker walls than those of var. capsulatum.
 Growth on Sabouraud dextrose agar at 25ºC shows a white to brown
colony, cottony mycelium after 2 to 3 weeks.
 The mold phase is characterized by thin, branching, septate hyphae that
produce microconidia and a very distinct spore called a tuberculate
macroconidium.
 Grown at 37ºC shows the budding yeast form.
 The yeast cell is 2-4 µm in diameter and slightly oval in shape and found
exclusively within macrophages.

Epidemiology
 Histoplasma capsulatumis a dimorphic fungal pathogen of worldwide
importance that causes a broad spectrum of disease activity.
 Histoplasmosis is the most prevalent mycosis in North America and
more often reported in the areas surrounding the Mississippi and Ohio
rivers.
 Infection occurs via exposure to dust or soil for prolonged periods of
time including activities which disturb bird and bat guano which
increase the risk of infection.
 In Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, capsulatum is endemic and
approximately 80 % of the general population tested showed
hypersensitivity to Histoplasma capsulatum with young adults being the
largest group to be affected.
 Histoplasmosis is also found in Central and South America, Australia,
eastern Asia, and the tropical areas of Africa.
 Although the course of infection is mild in immunocompetent
individuals, the individuals with immunocompromised status are at an
increased risk of infection, and hold an increased severity of infection
with a higher mortality rate.