Image kindly supplied by Tom Volk (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse) with permission
Tom Volks Fungi
Image courtesy of Tom Volk
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse an used with permission
Tom
Volks Fungi
THE ORGANISM
Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic organism.
It exists in 2 forms - mold and yeast.
The mold form is found in the environment and in culture.
The yeast form is the infective state, found in the body during infection.
The organism is found in soil, and is saphrotrophic.
Such soil infected with Blastomyces is often found in wooded areas, along waterways, especially the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.
It produces infective blastospores on the soil.
The spores become airborne when the soil is disturbed
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