The diagnosis of endemic mycoses

The major endemic mycoses are defined by their heightened prevalence in specific geographic regions. In the Americas, Histoplasma capsulatum is concentrated in the Midwestern United States, most densely within the Ohio and Mississippi River basins, and south through Mexico, Central America, into South America, particularly Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina (1). African histoplasmosis, due to H. capsulatum var. duboisii is a much less common disease and is found in Central and Western Africa (2). There have also been cases of H. capsulatum var. capsulatum reported in South Africa.