COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS

Course overview

THE DIMORPHIC FUNGUS COCCIDIOIDES CAUSES COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS, ALSO KNOWN AS SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY FEVER, WHICH IS ENDEMIC TO THE ARID REGIONS OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. COCCIDIOIDES WAS FIRST DISCOVERED BY A MEDICAL INTERN IN 1892 AND WAS LATER NAMED COCCIDIOIDES IMMITIS. COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS IS THE SECOND MOST COMMON FUNGAL INFECTION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IT HAS A WIDE SPECTRUM OF CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS, FROM ASYMPTOMATIC INFECTION TO FATAL DISEASE. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE PATHOLOGY OF COCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ITS MANAGEMENT.