Southwest
Vacation nightmare: 12 family members diagnosed with fungal disease after exploring Costa Rica cave
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An extended family of six adults and six children brought home more than just souvenirs from Costa Rica after touring a bat cave.
The family that is spread across three states — Georgia, Texas and Washington — returned home feeling sick after a recent vacation.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, on January 17, 2025, a Georgia infectious disease physician notified CDC of suspected histoplasmosis cases.
Prior to the report, the family had visited the Venado Caves in Costa Rica, which was linked to a previous histoplasmosis outbreak.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces a family of 12 contracted a fungal disease from a bat cave in Costa Rica. (iStock)
While there were 13 family members traveling on December 21–28, only 12, six adults aged 42–49 and six children aged 8–16, who visited the cave were diagnosed with histoplasmosis.
Histoplasmosis is defined by the CDC as a fungal infection that primarily affects the lungs.
Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma organisms, which are often found in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings.
Histoplasmosis is caused by Histoplasma organisms, which are often found in soil contaminated with bird or bat droppings like the Venado Cave. (NYSDEC/Nancy Heaslip)
The condition is often misdiagnosed, as it was in this particular case.
One adult went to an emergency room and was hospitalized because of an abnormal chest radiography.
The findings raised concerns about lung cancer.
All 12 members who toured the cave became ill after 8-19 days of the exposure.
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The 12 family members all reported seeing bats in the cave. The Venado Caves in Costa Rica are also associated with another histoplasmosis outbreak in 1998–1999 that affected 51 people. (iStock)
Family members experienced headaches, malaise, fever, night sweats, myalgias, and respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms.
They all recovered to full health 28 days after exposure.
The Venado Caves in Costa Rica are also associated with another histoplasmosis outbreak in 1998–1999 that affected 51 people.
In response to this outbreak, the CDC alerted health departments through an Epidemic Information Exchange notification to help identify additional cases.
The CDC has been collaborating with the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Ministry of Health to incorporate information about histoplasmosis risks into the caving tour’s waiver forms.
In addition, the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica issued a health alert in March 2025 notifying the public of the risk of contracting histoplasmosis from the cave tours.
Nick Butler is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Do you have any tips? Reach out to Nick.Butler@Fox.com.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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