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Volume 32, Number 3—March 2026
Dispatch
Emerging Endemic Area for Blastomycosis, New York, USA, 2000–2024
Laura E. Ramirez
, Christian Kostowniak, Jessica Kumar, Sudha Chaturvedi, Ananthakrishnan Ramani, and Amit Chopra
, Christian Kostowniak, Jessica Kumar, Sudha Chaturvedi, Ananthakrishnan Ramani, and Amit Chopra
Table 1
Demographic characteristics and underlying conditions for 54 patients with laboratory-confirmed blastomycosis reported in Albany, New York, USA, 2000–2024*
| Characteristics |
Value |
|---|---|
| Mean age + SD, y | 43 + 18 |
| Median age, y (range) |
42 (4–78) |
| Sex | |
| F | 12 (22) |
| M |
42 (78) |
| Average BMI + SD | 27 + 6 |
| Median BMI (range) |
26 (16.9–39.7) |
| Race | |
| Caucasian | 37 (69) |
| African American | 9 (17) |
| Asian | 2 (4) |
| Other |
6 (11) |
| Underlying conditions | |
| Chronic lung disease | 10 (19) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 9 (17) |
| Cardiovascular disease | 4 (7) |
| Malignancy | 4 (7) |
| Immunosuppression | 2 (4) |
| Organ transplant | 1 (2) |
| HIV | 1 (2) |
| Kidney disease and failure | 2 (4) |
| Pregnancy | 1 (2) |
| None identified | 31 (57) |
| Tobacco use | 30 (55) |
| Marijuana use |
9 (15) |
| Preliminary diagnoses, n = 46 | |
| Community-acquired pneumonia | 14 (30) |
| Malignancy | 12 (26) |
| Skin and soft tissue infection | 5 (11) |
| Osteomyelitis | 4 (9) |
| Bacterial and viral infection | 3 (7) |
| Tuberculosis | 1 (2) |
| Blastomycosis | 1 (2) |
| Other | 6 (13) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Categories are not mutually exclusive, so totals may sum to >100%.
Page created: February 11, 2026
Page updated: February 26, 2026
Page reviewed: February 26, 2026
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