Being in a cave can expose a person to a number of infectious diseases. Some infections may be locale-dependent.
Animal sources of infection:
(1) bats
(2) rodents
(3) other animals
Infectious agents may be present in:
(1) dust/aerosols
(2) water
(3) ticks or mosquitoes
Potential pathogens:
(1) Histoplasma
(2) leptospirosis
(3) rabies
(4) Hantavirus
(5) tick-borne relapsing fever (Borreliosis, "cave fever", Middle East and Central Asia)
(6) Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Africa)
(7) tetanus
(8) Cryptococcosis
(9) psittacosis
(10) Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
(11) Lassa Fever (Africa)
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Specialty: Emergency Medicine