ABSTRACT
Nowadays, the rise of cave tourism makes it necessary to know about potentially pathogenic microorganisms in caves, determine their reservoirs, and inform people who are immunosuppressed, undergoing chemotherapy, or have lowered defences about the consequences of such visits. Unfortunately, information on cave microorganisms is relatively unknown, and visitors remain unaware. Our data reveal that the microorganisms found in Altamira Cave could represent a potential danger to visitors because, in addition to bacteria related to the human presence (e.g. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Ochrobactrum anthropi), other opportunistic microorganisms, whose existence and possible development in humans is currently unknown, were isolated. The most-frequent diseases produced by the microorganisms identified in the cave are located in the respiratory system and skin. Therefore it is recommended that in the case of a reopening of the cave, people should wear protective mask, gloves and clothing.
