Bat Poop Kills 2 Cannabis Farmers In New York From ‘Rare’ Fungal Infections
Two men from Rochester, New York, met their end after developing a “rare fungal lung infection” linked to using bat guano, or feces, as fertilizer for growing cannabis for their personal use.
The University of Rochester detailed the cases in a report published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, warning that “exposure to bat guano among cannabis growers appears to be a recent trend that can lead to histoplasmosis cases and outbreaks.” Histoplasmosis is a lung infection caused by inhaling spores of the Histoplasma fungus. It is also known as the “cave disease.”
What Happened: The first man (59), bought his guano online to use as fertilizer for his cannabis plants. The second man (64), was intending to fertilize his cannabis plants with the bat poop he found in his attic …