Histoplasmin sensitivity among cavers in Jamaica

ABSTRACT

Histoplasmin skin tests were conducted on a group of 30 Europeans residents in Jamaica. Ten subjects with no exposure to a guano-cave environment showed a negative response to the test. Two of eight subjects who had made only a single cave visit showed positive reactions. All twelve subjects with a history of frequent visits to guano-caves showed a positive response. The significance of these data to local levels of histoplasmin sensitivity and the ocurrence of cave-mediated outbreaks of histoplasmosis are discussed (AU)