Chissy Nkemere used to never get sick.

That is, until she was diagnosed with histoplasmosis this summer.

A second-year student at Ohio State, Nkemere began to suffer from flu-like symptons that persisted for days while at home in a Cleveland suburb for the summer. She was running a fever of 102 to 104 degrees, had breathing problems and felt so weak that she had difficulty climbing stairs.

“I was so hot I could feel the steam coming off my body,” she said. “When I breathed in, it was tight, it hurt.”

Nkemere also experienced pain in her abdomen, and her lymph nodes were swollen. She took Tylenol to relieve the pain and break her fever, which offered only temporary relief.

She went to the doctor several times and even after giving blood for lab work and having CAT scans, X-rays and a bronchoscopy, was told repeatedly that nothing was wrong. Doctors did find elevated liver enzymes: evidence of too much Tylenol.

Meningitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, a fungal infection and lung cancer were mentioned as possibilities for the illness.

Her mother, Nnenna Nkemere, a nurse practitioner, became increasingly concerned as her daughter’s symptoms persisted.

Chissy Nkemere was admitted to Hillcrest Hospital for a week and four different specialty doctors worked to determine what was wrong.

“Thank God this happened in the summer and she was at home,” her mother said.

After numerous tests, Chissy Nkemere was diagnosed with histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that can be harmful to the lungs.

Two OSU employees who worked in Hitchcock Hall have also been diagnosed with this illness.

Nkemere, who works as a college marketing representative for Sony Music BMG, participated in a play called “Urinetown” that was presented at Hitchcock Hall in May.

She spent 16 to 20 hours a week practicing for the play in the auditorium, basement and two classrooms of the building.

At the height of her illness, Nkemere’s doctors prescribed her eight antifungal pills a day. She is now down to four and will continue to take medication until cleared by her doctors.

She said she has been told by patients with the disease that some have to take medication for a few months — some for the rest of their lives.

“This changes everything,” Nnenna Nkemere said.

Dr. Susan Koletar, an infectious disease physician at OSU, has treated hundreds of histoplasmosis cases in the 24 years she has been with the university.

“Most of us who live here have been exposed,” Koletar said.

Most people get over it on their own unless they have HIV or had an organ transplant, she said. Other health problems can determine how a person is affected.

“Some people don’t even think it needs to be treated in someone young and healthy,” Koletar said.

The university was unaware of any students becoming ill with histoplasmosis.

“Leaders in the college were not notified that a student had become ill. The university takes the health and safety of its students, staff and faculty seriously,” said Amy Murray, assistant director of media relations, in an e-mail. “We have conducted testing of the Hall, and initial air tests that were conducted last week — in the office suite and other areas — have come back negative.”

Final results should be available soon.

Chissy Nkemere and her mother wonder if she picked up the disease in Hitchcock. She has always been healthy until now.

For now, she continues to take the same antifungal medication as one of the two OSU employees suffering from the illness, Olga Stavridis, associate director of Engineering Career Services at Hitchcock.

The university has offered histoplasmosis testing for employees of Hitchcock Hall, but Murray said her office did not know of any employees getting tested.

There are no plans to offer free testing for histoplasmosis to students.

“Students that are concerned with this or any other health issue should contact the Student Health Center for follow-up,” Murray said.

Statistics for positive histoplasmosis diagnosis in Ohio and the nation are unavailable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have national or state statistics for histoplasmosis, said Lola Russell, media spokesperson.

“It’s not a nationally reportable disease,” she said.

No other participants in “Urinetown” have reported getting ill, said Tyler Rogols, one of the directors of the play.

She didn’t tell others about her illness before because she did not know where she got it.

“What was I going to say to them? ‘Watch out for the air?'”