Histoplasmosis - Protecting Workers at Risk

Note: This publication supercedes 97-146

This booklet is a revised edition of the NIOSH document Histoplasmosis:Protecting Workers at Risk, which was originally published in September 1997. The updated information in this booklet will help readers understand what histoplasmosis is and recognize activities that may expose workers to the disease-causing fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. The booklet also informs readers about methods they can use to protect themselves and others from exposure.

Outbreaks of histoplasmosis have shared similar circumstances:People who did not know the health risks of breathing in the spores of H. capsulatum became ill and sometimes caused others nearby to become ill when they disturbed contaminated soil or accumulations of bird or bat manure. Because they were unaware of the hazard, they did not take protective measures that could have prevented illness.

Histoplasmosis - Protecting Workers at Risk [PDF 677KB]
Worker/Employer Recommendations [PDF 125KB]
Worker/Employer Recommendations in Spanish [PDF 127KB]