title: Pulmonary histoplasmosis presenting as chronic productive cough, fever, and massive unilateral consolidation in a 15-year-old immune-competent boy: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Severe histoplasmosis is known to be among the AIDS-defining opportunistic infections affecting patients with very low CD4 cell counts in histoplasmosis-endemic areas. Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii is common in West and Central Africa, where it occurs in both HIV/AIDS and non-HIV patients. Few cases of life-threatening histoplasmosis in immune-competent individuals have been reported worldwide.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe a case of pulmonary histoplasmosis diagnosed on the basis of autopsy and histological investigations. A 15-year old East African immune-competent boy with a history of smear-positive tuberculosis and a two-year history of rock cutting presented to our hospital with chronic productive cough, fever, and massive unilateral consolidation. At the time of presentation to our hospital, this patient was empirically treated for recurrent tuberculosis without success, and he died on the seventh day after admission. The autopsy revealed a huge granulomatous lesion with caseation, but no acid-fast bacilli were detected on several Ziehl-Neelsen stains. However, periodic acid-Schiff staining was positive, and the histological examination revealed features suggestive of Histoplasma yeast cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Severe pulmonary histoplasmosis should be considered in evaluating immune-competent patients with risk factors for the disease who present with pulmonary symptoms mimicking tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Weill Bugando University College of Health Sciences, Mwanza, Tanzania. kajuna@doctor.com.
authors.forename: Rodrick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kabangila
authors.forename: Kilonzo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Semvua
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rambau
authors.forename: Kahima
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Mshana
authors.forename: Hyasinta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jaka
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Peck