[Hoarseness in a recent visitor to the tropics through infection of the larynx by Histoplasma capsulatum].

A 58-year-old man presented with hoarseness and a sore throat for the previous 3 months, which were caused by a laryngeal infection with the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. He had been infected during a stay in Indonesia. Both his hoarseness as well as the Histoplasma antigen titres in serum responded to therapy with itraconazol. H. capsulatum is found in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide, but infections are most commonly reported from the south of the United States of America. If not asymptomatic, the disease most often presents with pulmonary symptoms. A histoplasmosis presenting as a laryngeal infection is relatively uncommon and can be mistaken for papillomatosis or carcinoma. The diagnosis can be made by microscopy and culture of the fungus; an antigen test is available in the United States.