Tennessee Histoplasmosis Outbreak — August 2026 Status: At least 35 people in the Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station area (Williamson and Maury Counties) have been diagnosed with histoplasmosis — a serious fungal lung infection — since September 2025, and at least one person has died. The Tennessee Department of Health’s investigation into the source is ongoing. If you lived, worked, or stayed in the area and were diagnosed, call (205) 407-6009 for a free case review. Tennessee’s deadline can be as short as one year.

Middle Tennessee is living through an unusual disease outbreak. Beginning in September 2025, residents of Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station started falling ill with histoplasmosis, an infection caused by breathing in Histoplasma fungal spores from disturbed soil, especially soil enriched by bird or bat droppings. On December 3, 2025, the Tennessee Department of Health issued a Health Alert Network advisory to clinicians; by late January 2026, officials confirmed at least 35 cases and one death, with reports of both acute and severe disseminated infections.

What Is Histoplasmosis?

Histoplasmosis begins like a stubborn flu: fever, cough, chest pain, fatigue, and muscle aches — typically 3 to 17 days after exposure. Most healthy adults clear it, but the infection can settle into the lungs, spread through the body (disseminated histoplasmosis), and turn deadly, particularly for infants, older adults, and anyone immunocompromised. Severe cases require weeks or months of antifungal treatment and can leave permanent lung damage.

Why Lawyers Are Watching the Source Investigation

Histoplasma doesn’t blanket a community by accident. Outbreaks of this kind are classically traced to a specific activity that threw contaminated soil into the air: excavation and land clearing, demolition, chicken coop or roost teardown, or construction over contaminated ground. Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station sit in one of Tennessee’s fastest-growing development corridors. The Tennessee Department of Health has not yet identified the outbreak’s source. If the investigation ties these infections to a negligent land disturbance by a developer, contractor, or property owner who churned contaminated soil without dust control near homes, schools, or workplaces, the sickened families may have significant legal claims. We are monitoring the investigation closely and preserving clients’ claims while it proceeds.

Who Should Call Us

  • You lived, worked, or stayed in Spring Hill or Thompson’s Station (or nearby Williamson/Maury County areas) at any time from September 2025 to the present; and
  • You were diagnosed with histoplasmosis, or a family member died with a histoplasmosis diagnosis; or
  • You had a prolonged flu-like respiratory illness in that window that was never fully explained. A urine antigen test can still confirm past infection in many cases.

The Tennessee Deadline Problem

Tennessee’s personal injury statute of limitations is just one year — among the shortest in the country. The discovery rule can extend it where the cause wasn’t knowable, but families who wait for the state to finish its investigation risk losing claims before the source is ever named. The safe move is to preserve the claim now: document the diagnosis, the address history, and the timeline, and let counsel track the investigation.

Why Call Fob James Law Firm

We represent injury victims across Tennessee, and our attorneys handle Tennessee mass tort and environmental exposure claims alongside national litigation counsel, including cases pending in Tennessee federal and state courts. Free consultation, no fee unless we recover.

Tennessee Histoplasmosis Outbreak FAQs

Has the source of the Tennessee histoplasmosis outbreak been identified?

No. As of August 2026 the Tennessee Department of Health’s investigation is ongoing. Cases have clustered in Spring Hill and Thompson’s Station since September 2025, a pattern consistent with a localized soil disturbance, but no source has been publicly confirmed.

Can I sue if no source has been named yet?

A claim needs a responsible party, so most cases will firm up when the investigation does, but you should not wait to protect your rights. Tennessee’s one-year deadline makes early documentation critical, and attorneys can preserve claims and investigate independently while the state works.

I was sick for weeks last fall but never tested. Could it have been histoplasmosis?

Possibly. The outbreak’s earliest cases date to September 2025 and histoplasmosis is routinely mistaken for flu or pneumonia. A urine antigen test is fast and highly specific, and follow-up blood testing can confirm past infection. Talk to your doctor, and keep your medical records.

What would a histoplasmosis claim be worth?

It depends on the illness: weeks of antifungal treatment, hospitalization, permanent lung damage, or a family death are very different cases, and on what the source investigation shows. No honest lawyer can quote a number before liability is established.

Talk to a Tennessee Histoplasmosis Lawyer

If this outbreak reached your family, get your diagnosis documented and your claim preserved before Tennessee’s short deadline decides for you. Call Fob James Law Firm, LLC at (205) 407-6009 or contact us online. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.