Many peoples visit the caves in touristic areas. Cave environment is a favorable media for bacteria and fungi, but I did not find any caution from immunosuppresed patients that visit these places!
And for virus also. In densely inhabited by bats caves, there is an increased risk of acquiring the virus of rabies. There is an increased risk of acquiring histoplasmosis in immunosuppressed. The Ebola virus can also be purchased in caves.
Omid, is not really a widespread issue but if there are in the medical literature articles that warns the risk of acquiring type wild places zoonotic infections among which we should explicitly mention the caves. One of these articles is the Dr, Pickering and that I particularly recommend.
Exposure to Nontraditional Pets at Home and to Animals in Public Settings: Risks to ChildrenLarry k. Pickering, Nina Marano, Joseph a. Bocchini, Frederick j. Angulo, and and the Committee on Infectious DiseasesPediatrics, October 2008; 122: 4 876-886
Yes. Caves are the usual habitat of many species of bats and are rich in bat droppings, which favour the growth of Histoplasma capsulatum, a diamorphic fungus. Hence the air in caves contains spores of this fungus. Cave visitors without safety masks may inhale these spores and get infected with this fungus which may cause histoplasmosis, a systemic infection involving internal organs and skin and mucous membrane, a fatal fungal infection. Use masks while visiting caves.
Yes. Visiting caves without masks or other protection will increase the risk of respiratory infections specially histoplasmosis caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. This infection can occur in normal individuals.It is needless to say that people with immune deficiency are at high risk in visiting caves . One can visit caves with masks or other protection from dangers of inhalation of fungal spores which are grown on bat guano. Healthy and immune deficiency people are equally at risk if they do not take care to use masks. Histoplasmosis, also known as cave disease, is reported mostly from USA. In India, we isolated Histoplasma capsulatum from a bat habitat in an old deserted building. Disturbing or demolishing old buildings where bats colonize or chicken coops or bird habitat rich with droppings are highly dangerous.