Vacation nightmare: 12 family members diagnosed with fungal disease after exploring Costa Rica cave

An extended family of six adults and six children brought home more than just souvenirs from Costa Rica after touring a bat cave.

The family that is spread across three states — Georgia, Texas and Washington — returned home feeling sick after a recent vacation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, on January 17, 2025, a Georgia infectious disease physician notified CDC of suspected histoplasmosis cases.

Prior to the report, the family had visited the Venado Caves in Costa Rica, which was linked to a previous histoplasmosis outbreak.

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While there were 13 family members traveling on December 21–28, only 12, six adults aged 42–49 and six children aged 8–16, who visited the cave were diagnosed with histoplasmosis.

Histoplasmosis is defined by the CDC as a fungal infection that primarily affects the lungs.

Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma organisms, which are often found in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings. 

The condition is often misdiagnosed, as it was in this particular case.

One adult went to an emergency room and was hospitalized because of an abnormal chest radiography.

The findings raised concerns about lung cancer.

All 12 members who toured the cave became ill after ​​8-19 days of the exposure.

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Family members experienced headaches, malaise, fever, night sweats, myalgias, and respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms.

They all recovered to full health 28 days after exposure.

The Venado Caves in Costa Rica are also associated with another histoplasmosis outbreak in 1998–1999 that affected 51 people.

In response to this outbreak, the CDC alerted health departments through an Epidemic Information Exchange notification to help identify additional cases.

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The CDC has been collaborating with the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Ministry of Health to incorporate information about histoplasmosis risks into the caving tour’s waiver forms.

In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica issued a health alert in March 2025 notifying the public of the risk of contracting histoplasmosis from the cave tours.