Distribution of histoplasma capsulatum in Amazonian wildlife

In a survey of 296 sylvatic animals captured from virgin forests in the north-eastern and south-western Amazon of Brazil, Histoplasma capsulatum was isolated, via the indirect hamster inoculation method, from the liver and spleen of four common opossums Didelphis marsupialis and two pacas Agouti paca. The infected animals did not show any clinical symptoms or histopathology. The known Amazonian mammalian species with natural histoplasmosis now total five, the previously reported species being the spiny rat Proechimys guyannensis, the two-toed sloth Choloepus didactylus and the nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus.