WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. — The histoplasmosis outbreak affecting Williamson and Maury counties has expanded to more than 35 cases, with state health officials now investigating at least one death from the fungal infection.
I have spoken with several families affected by the outbreak, including survivors Liam, Cami and Eli, who all became ill with histoplasmosis around the end of October. All three live within 10 minutes of each other near Buckner Road and the June Lake interchange.
Tragically, the outbreak also claimed the life of Alyssia Brown, who fell sick around the same time and lived in the same neighborhood as the survivors.
A life cut short
Alyssia Brown was known for her ability to connect with people wherever she went.
"She made best friends everywhere. She went," said one family member, describing Brown's outgoing nature.
"She loved to just collect people," another loved one recalled. "She showed up for everyone and loved genuinely and deeply. She pulls you out of your shell and into sharing and becoming really connected to people. That's just what she did."
When Brown fell sick in October with persistent symptoms, her mother Gwen and sister Amity encouraged her to seek medical help.
"Just very fluish symptoms just persisting, an upper respiratory infection that didn't get better," her mother described.
Best friend and roommate Kimberly Shelton had to advocate for Brown to receive proper testing.
"Kim had to beg the doctor to test her for histoplasmosis," Amity said.
"I just saw a lack of care and no one running test results. She said she had chest pain and we're waiting in the waiting room for hours," said Shelton.
Doctors finally agreed to test for the fungal infection. Two days later, on December 15, Shelton found Brown face-down and unresponsive in her room.
"It didn't hit until they were wheeling her out the door and I was like that's my friend," Shelton said.
Three days after Brown's death, the test results came back positive for histoplasmosis.
"They called Kim and told her it was a critical thing and probably widespread due to the level that was in her urine," a family member said. "It was treatable, but it wasn't caught in time."
Calls for better testing
Brown's loved ones believe earlier testing could have saved her life.
"It's hard to say one thing or another needs to be better, but what needs to be done better is being just to be able to be tested for a period without having questions asked," Shelton said.
"Why wouldn't you test for histoplasmosis? You know it's in the area and know people have died from it in the past. You know there's been some acute cases. Why would you just dismiss it?" a family member questioned.
Brown's family has spread her ashes and continues to share her story, knowing "she reached her final destination" and hoping her experience will help save others.
State investigation continues
State health officials have not responded to questions about the similarities found in these cases or provided additional information about histoplasmosis deaths in the outbreak.
Officials say they still haven't found a clear source of exposure, noting that finding such sources can be challenging. They warn that people with weakened immune systems or those exposed to large amounts of histoplasmosis spores face a higher risk of severe infection.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
