blastomycosis

noun

blas·​to·​my·​co·​sis ˌbla-stə-ˌmī-ˈkō-səs 

: any of several fungal infections

especially : an infectious disease caused by a yeast fungus (Blastomyces dermititidis) that affects especially the lungs and skin

Examples of blastomycosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Vermont's rate of blastomycosis trails Wisconsin, the state with the highest rate. —USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024

Her veterinarian concluded the cat had contracted blastomycosis. —Detroit Free Press, 22 Feb. 2024

There are only one or two cases per 100,000 people each year in states where blastomycosis is a reportable condition, according to the CDC. —Katherine Dillinger, CNN, 10 Apr. 2023

Wisconsin cases of blastomycosis in dogs In Feb. 2022, a veterinarian in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, told the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services that four dogs were diagnosed with blastomycosis. —USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin Blastomyces, singular of Blastomycetes, former taxon comprising yeasts (from blasto- blasto- + -mycetes, borrowed from Greek mýkētes, plural of mýkēs "mushroom, fungus") + -osis — more at myc-

Note: The disease-causing agent of blastomycosis is given the specific name Blastomyces dermatitidis by T. Caspar Gilchrist and William Royal Stokes in "A case of pseudo-lupus vulgaris caused by a blastomyces," Journal of Experimental Medicine, vol. 3 (1898), p. 76.

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

blastomycosis

noun

blas·​to·​my·​co·​sis -ˌmī-ˈkō-səs 

plural blastomycoses -ˌsēz 

: either of two infectious diseases caused by yeastlike fungi see blastomyces, north american blastomycosis, south american blastomycosis

blastomycotic

-ˈkät-ik 

adjective