New York Men Suffer Fatality After Using Bat Shit for Growing Marijuana | VIDEO
By Chris Richburg
February 1, 2025
Bat excrement cultivation turns deadly for two NY men // Marijuana smoking (Angela Weiss-AFP-Getty Images)
Marijuana smoking (Angela Weiss-AFP-Getty Images)
*The cost of getting high proved fatally high for two New Yorkers who used the excrement from bats to grow marijuana. Live5News is reporting the unidentified men were 64 and 59, respectively, when they met their end.
At the time, they smoked pot that was tainted with bat droppings containing a dangerous fungus called guano. Despite the benefit of using it, guano made an irreversible impact on the men causing fatal lung infections from pneumonia they contracted from the bat feces.
Described as a “natural superfood” for cannabis plants due to its high nutrients, the bat guano was bought from an online store by the 59-year-old man, the study pointed out. For the 64-year-old, he did not have to look far, since he grew a thick layer of guano in his attic. It so happened that the location had a heavy bat infestation, to fertilize his cannabis plants.
Diving further with details on the guano, Black News touched on it containing Histoplasma capsulatum, a potentially deadly fungus from the eastern half of the US. Histoplasma is typically transmitted by breathing in the fungal spores, in addition to being ingested through the mouth. — although it can also be ingested through the mouth.
A result, the fungus can cause a serious lung infection, making it difficult for users to breathe. Researchers for the study found a first, with fatal cases related to individual exposures to guano currently outnumbering work-related outbreak cases.
Marijuana
Marijuana
“Given the recent legalization and an expected increase in home cultivation of cannabis, along with the promotion of bat guano for this purpose, it is important to raise public awareness about the potential risk of using bat guano as fertilizer and emphasize the need for protective measures, such as wearing masks when handling it,” researchers wrote.
Despite how it looked, the men’s deaths were not connected. For the researchers, the death marks a growing trend related to bat waste use among people to produce marijuana since its legalization.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of histoplasmosis become visible three to 17 days after breathing in the fungus. Symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, chills, headache, chest pain, and body aches.
The 59-year-old patient, an arthritic, heavy tobacco user with emphysema, was admitted to the hospital suffering from breathing troubles, a sore throat, and weight loss for six weeks, the study revealed, adding that the Rochester man appeared to be infected at the time.
Although doctors initially thought the small masses layering the man’s throat and vocal cords might be cancer, it turned out to be from the fungus. Efforts to treat the man for two weeks with antifungal medication were unsuccessful. The study mentioned he was then transferred to hospice care and died.
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The man’s 64-year-old counterpart, a fellow smother with severe peripheral arterial disease and prior aorto-bifemoral bypass surgery, transitioned from complications related to bowel ischemia after months of treatment. The treatment stemmed from lesions in his chest and pancreas because of the fungal infection.
Weighing in on the two situations, researchers warned of histoplasmas infecting “a wide range of the population” with immunocompromised individuals among those with the highest risk.
“These cases also highlight that growing cannabis can be a relevant part of a patient’s history as a risk factor for histoplasmosis,” researchers stated amid recommendations to test commercial biofertilizers containing bat guano for the bacteria before hitting the market.” A wide range of the population may be at risk of acquiring the disease through this exposure, with the highest risk among immunocompromised individuals.”
https://eurweb.com/2025/bat-excrement-cultivation-turns-deadly-for-two-ny-men/