Fungal infection suspected in spelunkers

A number of foreign cave specialists who spent four nights in a cave in the southern state of Chiapas are suspected to have contracted histoplasmosis. Bats and bat droppings were in evidence near the cave – they can be the source of fungal spores that produce the infection’s typical symptoms when inhaled - fever, shortness of breath, dry cough, fatigue and headache. The cave in question, La Cueva del Rio La Venta, is popular with speliologists and exploring it requires many hours underground. Read more

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