Blastomycosis is a fungal infection dogs and people catch by breathing in spores from damp soil, rotting wood and leaves, often near rivers and lakes. It’s easily mistaken for pneumonia or cancer. Caught early, most dogs survive. Caught late, it can kill within days.
Warning signs in dogs
- Cough, or fast or labored breathing
- Weight loss, poor appetite, low energy
- Fever
- Red, cloudy or painful eyes, or sudden blindness
- Bumps or draining sores, especially on the nose, face or toes
- Swollen lymph nodes or limping
If your dog has several of these, especially after time near water or in the woods, or a “pneumonia” that isn’t getting better on antibiotics, ask your vet about a Blastomyces urine antigen test. Don’t wait and see.
Six things every dog owner should know
- It lives in the ground. Moist soil, rotting wood and leaves, often near rivers, lakes, wetlands and beaver ponds. Where it lives
- Water is the biggest clue. Most dogs with blastomycosis live within a quarter mile of a waterway.
- It isn’t contagious. Dogs don’t catch it from other dogs or give it to people. Dogs and people get it from the same ground. How it spreads
- It’s slow to show. Signs appear weeks to months after exposure, so the walk that caused it is long forgotten.
- It’s treatable. About 70% of treated dogs recover, but up to half of dogs with severe lung disease die in the first week. Speed matters.
- You can’t kill it in your yard. There’s no proven way to remove it from soil, so avoiding exposure and acting fast are what work. Prevention
It’s not just a Midwest disease
Vets and doctors learn that blastomycosis belongs to the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys and the Great Lakes. But cases have been climbing in upstate New York, where a 2026 study in the CDC’s journal called the region “a new emerging endemic area.” New Jersey doesn’t require anyone to report cases, so no one knows how often it happens here. Read about New Jersey and New York.
Why we made this site
Isabelle was our German Shepherd. We split our time between Flemington, New Jersey and New York City, places where most people have never heard of blastomycosis. Based on her symptoms, we believe it’s what took her from us.
We built Blasto Awareness so the next owner, and the next vet, think of it sooner. If this site helps one dog get tested in time, it’s done its job.
Blasto Awareness shares public information for awareness only. It is not veterinary or medical advice. If you’re worried about your dog or yourself, talk to your vet or doctor. See our sources.