186 INFECTIONS CAUSED BY MOLDS 



Conant and Howell * have recently transferred the fungus causing 

 South American blastomycosis (paracoccidioidal granuloma) to this 

 genus. Aside from the recognized error in the use of Blastomyces it 

 seems reasonable to range the South American fungus, B. brasiliensis, 

 alongside B. dermatitidis. 



Geographical Distribution. Blastomycosis is an American disease. 

 It appears to be most common in the Mississippi Valley and it has 

 been called the Chicago disease because of the number of cases ob- 

 served in that area. However, it has a wide distribution on this 

 continent; it has extended into Canada. Presumptive cases have 

 been reported from England. 



Habitat in Nature. The occurrence of the fungus outside the 

 animal body is not known. Circumstantial evidence suggests that it 

 grows as a saprophyte in soil or dead vegetation. 



LITERATURE 



L Baker, R. D., Experimental blastomycosis in mice, Amer. J. Path., 18, 463 



(1942). 

 2. , Tissue reactions in human blastomycosis, Amer. J. Path., 18, 479 



(1942). 



3. Benham, R. W., The fungi of blastomycosis and coccidioidal granuloma, 



Arch. Dermatol. Syphilol. (Chicago), 30, 385 (1934). 



4. CoNANT, N. F., and A. Howell, Jr., Etiological agents of North and South 



American blastomycosis, Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 46, 426 (1941). 



5. DeMonbreun, W. a., Experimental chronic cutaneous blastomycosis in 



monkeys, Arch. Dermatol. Syphilol. (Chicago), 31, 831 (1935). 



6. Gilchrist, T. C, A case of blastomycetic dermatitis in man, Johns Hopkins 



Hosp. Repts., 1, 269 (1896). 



7. Gilchrist, T. C, and W. R. Stokes, A case of pseudo-lupus vulgaris caused 



by a blastomycete, J. Exptl. Med., 3, 53 (1898). 



8. Martin, D. S., and D. T. Smith, Blastomycosis, Arn. Rev. Tuberc., 39, 275, 



488 (1939). 



9. Ricketts, H. T., Oidiomycosis (blastomycosis) of the skin and its fungi, 



J. Med. Research, 1, 373 (1901). 



10. Spring, D., Comparison of seven strains of organisms causing blastomycosis 



in man, J. Injections Diseases, 44, 169 (1929). 



11. Stober, A. M., Systemic blastomycosis. Arch. Internal Med., 13, 509 (1914). 



South American Blastomycosis 



(Paracoccidioidal Granuloma) 



Historical. Lutz ^ * in 1908 and Splendore ^ in 1909 described 

 a highly fatal disease observed in Brazil and characterized by skin 



* Literature citations for this section will be found on page 189. 



