Coccidioides immitis causes which disease?

Coccidioides immitis causes which disease?

• A. Coccidioidomycosis
• B. Histoplasmosis
• C. Sporotrichosis
• D. Blastomycosis

Answer: (A)

Coccidioides immitis causes coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley fever. This disease results from inhaling soil-borne arthroconidia in arid regions; once in the lungs, the fungus forms spherules with endospores. Clinically it ranges from mild, flu-like illness to pneumonia, and it can disseminate in some people, especially immunocompromised individuals. The other fungi listed cause different diseases: Histoplasma capsulatum causes histoplasmosis, Sporothrix schenckii causes sporotrichosis, and Blastomyces dermatitidis causes blastomycosis. The name of the disease directly reflects the organism responsible, so the correct pairing is coccidioidomycosis.

Coccidioides immitis causes coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley fever. This disease results from inhaling soil-borne arthroconidia in arid regions; once in the lungs, the fungus forms spherules with endospores. Clinically it ranges from mild, flu-like illness to pneumonia, and it can disseminate in some people, especially immunocompromised individuals. The other fungi listed cause different diseases: Histoplasma capsulatum causes histoplasmosis, Sporothrix schenckii causes sporotrichosis, and Blastomyces dermatitidis causes blastomycosis. The name of the disease directly reflects the organism responsible, so the correct pairing is coccidioidomycosis.