Bat Poop Fertilizer Blamed for Deadly Fungal Infections in Cannabis Growers

Homegrown weed lovers beware: determination are immoderate fertilizers that you should astir apt avoid. Doctors are informing radical to steer wide of bat guano, a.k.a bat poop, aft 2 cannabis growers contracted a fatal fungal corruption linked to its use.

Researchers astatine the University of Rochester elaborate the antithetic infections successful a lawsuit study published earlier this month. Both cases progressive section men who developed a terrible bout of histoplasmosis, apt contracted from bat guano they had utilized oregon intended to usage arsenic fertilizer for their cannabis crops. While vulnerability to bat guano isn’t a communal hazard for galore people, the researchers enactment that it’s go a popularly advertised “superfood” for increasing cannabis.

Histoplasmosis begins arsenic a lung corruption caused by inhaling spores of the Histoplasma fungus (typically the taxon Histoplasma capsulatum). These exposures don’t usually marque radical sick, but sometimes the corruption tin crook into comparatively mild pneumonia, causing symptoms specified arsenic fever, cough, thorax pain, and assemblage aches. More rarely, the corruption tin linger successful the lungs and go a chronic problem, oregon adjacent dispersed to different parts of the assemblage similar the encephalon and origin serious, life-threatening illness. As is often existent with fungal infections, chronic oregon terrible histoplasmosis is much communal successful radical with already weakened immune systems.

These infections aren’t contagious and tin beryllium lone caught from biology sources of the fungus. The fungus is primarily found successful the cardinal and eastbound U.S., surviving successful the soil. But Histoplasma fungi turn particularly good successful ungraded that’s been saturated with vertebrate oregon bat droppings, and the fungi look to naturally infect bats routinely, making the furry, flighted mammals an important vector of transmission. Outbreaks of histoplasmosis are often caused by disruptions of contaminated ungraded that footwear up the spores successful the air. But these latest cases look to amusement that bat guano itself tin beryllium a deadly bearer of histoplasmosis.

The archetypal victim, a 59-year-old man, had purchased bat guano online and utilized it to fertilize his cannabis. The 2nd victim, a 64-year-old man, had precocious discovered a “heavy bat infestation” successful his attic, and helium was hoping to usage the bat guano arsenic a fertilizer for his crops. Unfortunately, by the clip the men had seen the doctors, their cases had gotten rather severe, causing different problems similar secondary infections and sepsis. Despite treatment, they yet died from complications of the infection. Both men had a past of different aesculapian issues that whitethorn person made them much susceptible to terrible illness, specified arsenic emphysema oregon past bosom surgery.

“Exposure to bat guano among cannabis growers appears to beryllium a caller inclination that tin pb to histoplasmosis cases and outbreaks,” the researchers wrote successful their paper, published successful the diary Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Histoplasmosis is simply a uncommon diagnosis (between 3,000 and 7,000 cases may hap annually successful the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). But the researchers are disquieted that cannabis growers are apt successful the acheronian astir the imaginable dangers posed by bat guano. They enactment that guano is commonly touted online arsenic a “natural superfood” for increasing cannabis due to the fact that of its richness successful nitrogen and different compounds. But neither national nor section agencies look to presently trial commercially sold guano for the fungus. And fixed that cannabis (and cannabis growing) is lone expected to go much fashionable arsenic legalization expands, the researchers reason that much should beryllium done to amended radical astir this vulnerability hazard and to support fungus-tainted guano fertilizer distant from customers.

“It is important to rise consciousness among physicians and patients to reenforce idiosyncratic preventive measures and found timely diagnosis. Commercial biofertilizers containing bat guano should beryllium tested for Histoplasma capsulatum earlier reaching the market,” they wrote. “If investigating is not feasible, hazard mitigation strategies should beryllium implemented.”