Some recent infant deaths may be tied to a household mold. The
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have begun checking into a possible
connection between
infant pulmonary hemorrhage and the indoor mold Stachybotrys
atra.
During the past four years, several infants in Cleveland and
Chicago have experienced
bleeding from the lungs. Some have died.
CDC investigators haven’t conclusively linked the cases with
household molds. But
they’re concerned enough to join with the Environmental
Protection Agency to advise
parents about pulmonary hemorrhage symptoms.
Don’t expose infants to indoor molds, the CDC advises. Toxins
from the indoor mold
may irritate the lining of infants’ lungs. This weakens
developing blood vessels, leading
to pulmonary bleeding.
The CDC also links the condition with exposure to tobacco smoke;
allergy to cows’
milk; pneumonia; heart, lung, spleen or pancreas problems; and
other infections,
allergies and immunological diseases.
“The mold is a black or green-black, slimy species,” said Dale
Dorman, a housing
specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service.
“Stachybotrys atra grows mainly on materials such as wood
and wood-based products,
paper or other cellulose products that have become and remain
wet,” she said. “It isn’t
found in dry or simply humid places.”
Dorman stresses the infant death cases are extremely rare.
“But once a child is infected, it’s a death warrant,” she
said. “I don’t want people to
run amok with fear over this. But they need to be aware of the
problem.”
To avoid problems, fix all leaks and get rid of water sources
associated with the mold
growth, Dorman said. Clean hard surfaces with a solution of
bleach and water.
Ventilate the area when using chlorine bleach. Let the bleach
and water mixture sit for
15 minutes. Then dry the area thoroughly.
“Some experts suggest that people performing the clean-up should
wear filter masks
and gloves to avoid contact with the mold,” Dorman said.
“Discard porous materials that are wet and can’t be thoroughly
cleaned and dried,” she
said. “They can remain a source of mold growth.”
To learn more about pulmonary hemorrhage or for publications
about it, call the CDC
at (770) 488-7320.
