Histoplasma capsulatum infection of bats in caves of Jahrom

Bats, the second largest group of mammals, are the reservoir of Histoplasma capsulatum. This fungus is found in soils enriched by bird droppings and bat guano especially in caves and fields and is transmissible to human beings. In this research, Histoplasma capsulatum infection of bats in the caves placed in Jahrom were investigated. In this study bats were captured with mist-net from 7 caves in Jahrom during 12 months (2010-2011). The bats were identified and classified according to taxonomic key in lab. The samples of skin, mouth, and internal organs of bats, were cultured in BHI media.   168 bats belonging to 11 species and 6 families were identified in Jahrom region but none of them were infected to H. capsulatum. Despite high population and diversity of bat as a source of this fungus and favorable conditions in terms of nutrition, topology and climate, no contamination was detected. This illustrated that some other factors, such as genetic of bats, or physiological and ecologic factors may influence the life cycle of the fungus.