Diseases Produced by Fungi

Many different human diseases are caused by fungi. These diseases sometimes occur when the immune system is already weakened (opportunistic infections), but they can also occur in people with regularly functioning immune systems. Human infection with fungi may lead to few or no symptoms, but some fungal diseases can lead to serious negative effects, including death.

Common Fungal Diseases

• Three of the most familiar forms of fungal disease are tinea, yeast infection and nail fungus. Tinea is a contagious group of fungi that can lead to infections on the body and scalp known as ringworm as well as around the groin (jock itch) and feet (athlete's foot), according to Medline Plus. Yeast infections caused by the fungus candida can affect the vagina, but they can also affect the mouth, esophagus, skin and even the blood, according to Medline Plus. Yeast infections can also affect the fingernails, while infection with dermatophyte fungi affects toenails, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Soil Fungi

• Three fungal diseases, valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), blastomycosis and histoplasmosis, are caused by stirring up fungi in soil and then breathing them in.

  The Mayo Clinic reports that valley fever may lead to fever, chest pain and coughing. Pregnant women, immunocompromised people (those with weakened immune systems) and people of Asian, Hispanic and African origin are at risk of death from infection.

  People who have symptoms because of blastomycosis may develop fever and chills, cough, and pain in the muscles, joints and chest. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that some cases lead to chronic lung infection or a widespread infection affecting the skin, bones, urinary tract and genitals, and may sometimes also result in meningitis (inflammation of the membranes that protect the brain).

  Histoplasmosis sometimes causes cold-like symptoms but in some cases may also lead to vision loss, according to the National Eye Institute.

Opportunistic Fungi

• Some fungal infections primarily affect people who already have another disease or whose immune systems are weakened. Aspergillosis primarily affects people with asthma and cystic fibrosis and can cause symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and fever in these groups, according to the CDC.

  Cryptococcus infection commonly affects HIV-positive people and may lead to pneumonia-like symptoms (shortness of breath, coughing and fever), skin lesions, and inflammation of the brain and its membranes, according to the CDC.

  Pneumocystis pneumonia is also a common fungal infection that affects people with HIV.

Mucormycosis

• Infection with Mucorales fungi occurs due to breathing in certain molds and can lead to a serious condition called rhinocerebral mucormycosis. Symptoms include pain, fever, and infection of the eye socket and eye bulging, pus from the nose and possible destruction of the tissues of the roof of the mouth, the bones around the eyes and sinuses, and the septum of the nose.

  When these fungi infect the brain, Merck Manuals reports that seizure, paralysis and coma may occur. Mucormycosis of the lungs can lead to fever, cough and trouble breathing. Sometimes the fungi also invade the blood and cause tissue death and bleeding, according to Merck Manuals.

Sporotrichosis

• Sporotrichosis is a fungal infecton that results from handling thorny plants, sphagum moss and baled hay, according to the CDC. This infection causes a red, pink or purple bump on the skin which the CDC reports is painless and looks like a bug bite. Additional bumps develop and become boil- or ulcer-like, healing slowly.

  The CDC reports that pneumonia can develop as a result of sporotrichosis, and the fungi can also infect the bones, joints and central nervous system.