To
find a
Certified
Mould Inspector
or Remediator in
Canada, or to be trained & certified as a mould
inspection, testing, remediation, and prevention expert, please
visit:
Mould
Professional.
For in depth
information about the health effects of exposure to toxic mould and
how to diagnose and treat mould illnesses, read our new book
Mould Health Guide.
Mould-Caused
Skin Diseases
Mould
causes dozens of serious skin diseases. This page explains one
mould-caused skin disease [popularly known as "Valley Fever"] that
has afflicted millions of people living in southwestern United
States. This explanation and the photo's below are from the
excellent book The
Fifth Kingdom by
Bryce Kendrick ---
Coccidioidomycosis is a nasty
tongue-twister of a name, often contracted to 'coccy', for the
disease caused by Coccidioides immitis. This fungus
thrives in dry, saline soils, and is endemic in desert areas of
the Southwestern U.S., where the disease is often called 'valley
fever,' and Mexico (though it is strangely absent from the
deserts of Africa and Asia). The process of infection, progress
of the disease, and clinical symptoms, are very similar to those
of histoplasmosis, though the fungus is not intracellular, and
forms spherical structures containing spores. In culture, the
same fungus produces chains of alternate thallic-arthric
conidia, and has no known teleomorph. Millions of people in the
U.S. Southwest have contracted the disease. Fortunately, as in
histoplasmosis, most cases are benign, and healing is
spontaneous. A few become systemic, and are usually fatal if
untreated or misdiagnosed. The disseminated form of this disease
is more common among males than females, and among people with
darkly pigmented skin.
The year 2001 has seen an interesting outbreak of this disease
in Dinosaur National Monument, Utah. Ten people who had
been working at a 'dig' developed acute respiratory
coccoidioidomycosis within two weeks of exposure. All were
treated with fluconazole, with an average hospital stay of 1.5
days, and released apparently none the worse for their
experience. New regulations for digs at Dinosaur call for
watering down of the soil before digging, and use of approved
respirators (N95).
For more information and to learn more about this
event, please visit the web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5045a1.htm
Disseminated
coccidioidomycosis,
caused by
Coccidioides immitis.
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