Cave-Associated Histoplasmosis Outbreak Among Travelers Returning from Costa Rica — Georgia, Texas, and Washington, December 2024–January 2025
Histoplasmosis is a fungal infection that primarily affects the lungs. The condition is caused by Histoplasma organisms, which are often found in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings. On January 17, 2025, a Georgia infectious disease physician notified CDC of suspected histoplasmosis cases among 12 members of an extended family from households in Georgia, Texas, and Washington. The ill family members included six adults aged 42-49 years and six children aged 8-16 years. They had recently returned from Costa Rica, where they toured a cave linked to a previous histoplasmosis outbreak (1).
Authors
- Hope Dishman
- Sidra Zaheer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6976-4805)
- Elizabeth T. Sajewski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6208-4073)
- Mitsuru Toda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5904-6658)
- Alexander Jordan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7834-866X)
- Meghan Lyman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7925-2232)
- Ria R. Ghai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9775-4826)
- Hanna N. Oltean (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9833-9189)
- BreeAnna Dell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4162-2979)
- Julie Gabel
- Olivia M. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9404-0243)
- Ian Hennessee
- Malcolm Harper
- Emeka Ogwuegbu
- Mitchell Blass
- Hayley Belles
Institutions
- Washington Department of Social and Health Services (US)
- Texas Department of State Health Services (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Published
- 2025-05-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7417a1
- Primary Topic
- Fungal Infections and Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Georgia Department of Public Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention