Overview
- State health officials report 36 confirmed histoplasmosis cases concentrated in Williamson and Maury counties in middle Tennessee.
- Investigators are examining reports of deaths linked to the cluster, and one woman who died tested positive posthumously, but the cause has not been confirmed pending autopsy.
- Several patients have been hospitalized, some are critically ill, and at least one person experienced severe complications including cardiac arrest.
- No common exposure has been identified, and the fungus is known to live in soil contaminated by bird or bat droppings and is not spread between people.
- The state has issued advisories urging clinicians and labs to test for acute histoplasmosis, noting symptoms can resemble flu and often appear 3 to 17 days after exposure.