Subscribe to HIV/AIDS email updates. Histoplasmosis (hiss-toh-
plaz-MOH-suhss) is a disease caused by a fungus. The disease
mainly hurts your lungs. Sometimes, it hurts other organs too,
in which case your HIV has progressed to AIDS. Histoplasmosis
can be fatal if untreated. The fungus grows in soil and in
materials that are contaminated with bat or bird droppings
(feces). The fungus gets into the air when soil (that has the
fungus) is disturbed. Breathing it in causes infection. However,
one person infected with histoplasmosis can't "give" it to
someone else. Many people don't have symptoms. If they do,
symptoms include fever, chest pains, fatigue, weight loss,
breathing problems, swollen lymph nodes, pneumonia-like
symptoms, and a dry (nonproductive) cough. Anyone working at a
job or close to places where the fungus is in the air can get
this disease. But people with HIV, especially those with lower
CD4 cell counts, have a higher risk of getting mild or severe
disease. People with HIV should not do activitie