Outbreak of histoplasmosis detected in tourists visiting cenotes in Yucatan

Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus usually found in bird and bat droppings.

At least five people between 24 and 50 years of age, two women and three men, were diagnosed with histoplasmosis at the “Ignacio García Téllez” hospital of the IMSS.

All those affected were tourists who were in cenotes in Homun, Yucatan between July and August 2022.

Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by inhaling the spores of a fungus usually found in bird and bat droppings.

The Federal Health Ministry revealed the case in a bulletin published last Monday, May 22, where it explained the importance of informing tourists and visitors to cenotes about the risk of contagion.

What are the symptoms?

Histoplasmosis is characterized by cough and chest pain that worsens during breathing, fever, joint pain, chills and mouth sores.

According to the agency, all the individuals studied had a history of visiting a cenote in Homun.

In addition, the five patients presented fever; four had headache, dry cough, arthralgia (joint pain) and myalgia (muscle pain), and three also manifested asthenia (tiredness) and dyspnea (breathing difficulty), the doctors detail.

All five people underwent a positive serological laboratory test to confirm the diagnosis and also a pulmonary tomography which showed data characteristic of the disease.

Call for caution when visiting cenotes

The histoplasmosis fungus proliferates in humid and dark places, such as grottos, caves, closed cenotes, church domes, wells and construction areas or abandoned houses, such as those existing in Yucatan.

Tourists usually visit these sites without specific measures, since the inhabitants of the area themselves are unaware that this type of risk is present and can affect the health of tourists.

TYT Newsroom