Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. Definition Aspergillosis refers to several forms of disease caused by a fungus in the genus Aspergillus. Aspergillosis fungal infections can occur in the ear canal, eyes, nose, sinus cavities, and lungs. Description Aspergillosis is primarily an infection of the lungs caused by the inhalation of airborne spores of the fungus Aspergillus.
Spores are the small particles that most fungi use to reproduce.
Although virtually everyone is exposed to this fungus in their daily environment, it rarely causes disease. Because it does not present distinctive symptoms, aspergillosis is generally thought to be underdiagnosed and underreported. Furthermore, many patients with the more severe forms of aspergillosis tend to have multiple, complex health problems, such as AIDS or a blood disorder like leukemia, which can further complicate diagnosis and treatment. Once considered particularly rare, the incidence of reported aspergillosis has risen somewhat with the development of more sophisticated methods of diagnosis and advances made in other areas of medicine, such as with the increased use of certain chemotherapeutic and corticosteroid drugs that are extremely useful in treating various types of cancer but that decrease the individual's immune response, making them more susceptible to other diseases like aspergillosis. Our advanced ability to perform tissue and organ transplants has also increased the number of people vulnerable to fungal infections.