A rare fungal disease has left one person dead and dozens sick as health officials race to contain the outbreak.
At least 35 people in the neighboring Maury and Williamson Counties in Tennessee have been diagnosed with a Histoplasmosis infection so far.
The Tennessee Department of Health first confirmed the outbreak in December 2025, writing in a statement that 18 people had been infected with the Histoplasma Capsulatum fungus since September. That number continues to rise, according to figures seen by The New York Times.
The outbreak has already led to one death, with Amity Brown alleging to The NYT that the infection killed her sister, Alyssia.
She believes her sister was infected while driving, since the disease spreads by inhaling soil contaminated with bird and bat droppings.
“She was saying that in the areas that she was driving, ‘there’s just so much construction happening and so much excavating, and they’re knocking down these old buildings,’” Amity told The NYT.
There is no vaccine for Histoplasmosis, and the disease can often be diagnosed late, because its symptoms mimic other illnesses.
However, there are several key symptoms that tend to appear alongside an infection.
Those symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, a dry cough, chest pain and tiredness, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Speaking to Fox 17, Alyssia’s friend and roommate, Kimberly Shelton, revealed the victim’s symptoms began with a mild cough.
“After we moved into this house in like October, she started developing a little bit of a cough, it really didn't seem like very much, it was just a cough that lasted for a long time.”
Alyssia’s mother, Gwendolyn, said that she was the first person to ask her daughter whether she might have been infected. After she read the symptom list aloud, Gwendolyn said that her daughter realised she had been exposed to the fungus.
“She goes, ‘Mom, that’s literally every single symptom that I have,’” Gwendolyn told Fox 17.
Alyssia was taken to the emergency room days later, where she was treated for bronchitis. However, her condition continued to worsen, leading her mother to ask doctors to test her for Histoplasmosis.
“When we went in, they didn’t even want to test her. I had to tell them like, ‘there’s this thing going around, can you please just test her for it?’” Shelton said.
The test was conducted on December 13, but Alyssia died just two days later. When the results came back on December 18, it was revealed that she had been infected by the Histoplasma Capsulatum fungus.
According to Fox 17, the family are still waiting for an autopsy to confirm whether the infection led to her death.
According to the Mayo Clinic, most cases of Histoplasmosis are not deadly and can even have no symptoms. However, it is vital for patients to seek medical attention if they believe they have been exposed to the disease.
Dr Zaid Fadul, CEO of Bespoke Concierge MD in California, told Fox News Digital that people with compromised immune systems are most at risk.
He also noted that people who often work outside could be more susceptible to the disease.
“It is very healthy to be outside, but if it is dusty or you will be outside for a prolonged time, you should be wearing some kind of mask to limit any spores you might breathe in,” Dr Fadul said.
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