ABSTRACT
B. dermatitidis, an ascomycete, is the least understood of the North American endemic mycoses caused by thermally dimorphic fungi. B. dermatitidis, the causative agent of blastomycosis, is endemic in the central and southeastern USA, the Midwestern and Canadian provinces that border the Great Lakes and in upper New York state and Canada along the Saint Lawrence River. Most cases are reported from Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Blastomycosis does occur in other parts of the world including Africa. Two serotypes (A-antigen positive and A-antigen negative) of B. dermatitidis have been identified. The latter strains are more closely associated with blastomycosis in Africa. Both serotypes are pathogenic for humans.
