Question

Upon Jade's diagnosis, some of the other people on Jade's trip were contacted and given a skin test that detects Histoplasma capsulatum exposure. Although several people in the traveling cohort tested positive for an exposure, no one aside from Jane had any signs or symptoms of the disease. Strangely, one of these people, a graduate student from Ohio, never even went into the caves, yet still had a positive skin test result. How can this be explained? (NCLEX-HESI-TEAS Style

A. The fungus is endemic in several places, but it rarely causes disease
B. Jade is immunocompromised and, therefore, easily spread the disease to others
C. Everyone was exposed and infected (even spreading it to one another), but cases transmitted from one person to another are unlikely to cause signs or symptoms.
D. The tests that came back positive must have been false positives

Answer 1

D. The tests that came back positive must have been false positives

Step-by-step explanation:

Histoplasmosis, also known as “cave disease” is a systemic mycotic infection caused by inhalation of microscopic spores from a soil saprophyte dimorphic fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. Importantly, Histoplasma capsulatum infection is not restricted to caves and caves, because people who have never been to caves and caves can contract the fungus by inhaling its spores.

The disease is not contagious, nor is it transmitted from one person to another. Although considered a zoonosis, it does not pass directly from animal to man. It also does not confer immunity after primary infection in the lungs. The airway is spread when the microspores release from Histoplasma capsulatum and, absorbed by the airways, penetrate the host organism and settle in the inflamed pulmonary alveoli. Because of this, we can conclude that in the case shown in the question above, the tests that tested positive must have been false positives.