Histoplasmosis: an outbreak occurring among young men who visited one cave

Sixteen cases of acute benign inhalational histoplasmosis were investigated after an outbreak of the disease in a group visiting a cave. The diagnosis was confirmed in 13 patients by chest X-ray examination, histoplasmin skin testing and serological examination. An attempt to isolate the organism Histoplasma capsulatum was unsuccessful. The epidemiology and relationship of the disease to bat ecology is discussed.