My dog has histoplasmosis. Can it spread to my baby or other pets?

Question

Hi my dog grew an odd mass on his leg and when they too the biopsy they found a histoplasmosis spore.... we have a newborn and are concerned it will effect the baby. The mass is going to be removed on Monday. Is there anything we should do to prevent this from happening? And is our other dog safe from getting it? We want to make sure this doesn’t spread while we get it taken care of.

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

Histoplasma is a fungus that can be found in the environment and specifically areas with bird and bat excrement. It is not generally spread directly from one animal to another, but certainly your other dog may have been exposed if they have been in the same areas. As far as human transmission, the biggest concern would be something like an accidental needle puncture with the organism, so your vet is much more at risk that your newborn. However, again there is concern if the soil in your area is contaminated. I think I would wait for the mass to be removed and to get the histopathology report on the mass to get confirmation of the disease, then start looking for possible locations of infection to try to prevent infection in anyone else. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

My dog has histoplasmosis. Can it spread to my baby or other pets?

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