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. 2012 Aug;106(8):504-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2012.05.009. Epub 2012 Jun 26.

Histoplasmosis among hospitalized febrile patients in northern Tanzania

Sarah M Lofgren  1 , Emily J Kirsch, Venance P Maro, Anne B Morrissey, Levina J Msuya, Grace D Kinabo, Wilbrod Saganda, Helmut C Diefenthal, Habib O Ramadhani, L Joseph Wheat, John A Crump
Affiliations

Histoplasmosis among hospitalized febrile patients in northern Tanzania

Sarah M Lofgren et al. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Histoplasmosis may be common in East Africa but the diagnosis is rarely confirmed. We report 9 (0.9%) cases of probable histoplasmosis retrospectively identified among 970 febrile inpatients studied in northern Tanzania. Median (range) age was 31 (6, 44) years, 6 (67%) were female, 6 (67%) HIV-infected; 7 (78%) were clinically diagnosed with tuberculosis or bacterial pneumonia. Histoplasmosis is an important cause of febrile illness in Tanzania but is rarely considered in the differential diagnosis. Increased clinician awareness and availability of reliable diagnostic tests may improve patient outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: L. Joseph Wheat is Director and Emily J. Kirsch is an employee of Miravista Diagnostics.

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