Histoplasmosis in Brazil

Abstract
Summary Five cases of “histoplasmosis of Darling” occurring in Brazil are described. The diagnosis was based on histopathological examination of human viscerotomy liver specimens collected between 1939 and 1944 inclusive. The data on the first case have been published previously. Among a total of 169,808 liver specimens examined, only these five cases of histoplasmosis were found. This would seem to indicate that the disease is not frequent in Brazil; but allowance should be made for the inherent limitations of viscerotomy. The essential histopathological liver lesions in these cases include marked reticulo-endothelial hyperplasia, granuloma formation, focal necrosis, and microabscesses. These have been described by other authors as occurring in this disease. H. capsulatum was isolated from the lung of a house dog which had been closely associated with one of the human patients. This is the fourth reported case of natural histoplasmosis in dogs and, to our knowledge, it is the first canine case to be linked directly with a human infection. A brief description is given of the morphological and cultural characteristics of the newly isolated strain.

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