Damp buildings

often have a moldy smell or obvious mold growth, and some molds are known human pathogens. This has caused concern regarding potential health effects of moldy indoor environments. As a result, there have been many studies of moisture- and mold-damaged buildings. More recently, there have been a growing number of articles in the media and of lawsuits claiming severe illness as a result of indoor mold exposure, particularly to Stachybotrys chartarum. However, while many authors report a clear relationship between fungal contaminated indoor environments and illness, close examination of the literature reveals a much more confusing picture. In this review, we discuss indoor environmental mold exposure and mycotoxicosis, with an emphasis on S. chartarum and its toxins (due to the breadth of the topic, we will not discuss better understood areas such as invasive disease caused by Aspergillus). We also discuss specific organ effects, focusing on illnesses purportedly caused by indoor mold. These illnesses include pulmonary, immunologic, neurologic, and oncologic disorders. We discuss the Cleveland infant idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage (IPH) reports in some detail, since they provided much of the fuel for current concerns about Stachybotrys exposure. As we will see, while there is cause for concern about the potential effects of indoor mold exposure, particularly to Stachybotrys species, there is no well-substantiated evidence linking the presence of this fungus to health concerns elaborated in the scientific and lay press. As patients and society at large become increasingly concerned that illnesses may be due to the home or work environment, an understanding of mycotoxins by microbiologists and clinicians (especially infectious-disease subspecialists) is of growing importance. Such knowledge is critical to the diagnosis of potential fungus-related disease and is necessary to assuage fears instilled by extensive media coverage

Sausage with mould leads to €6,000 penalty

A mouldy batter sausage led to fines totalling €6,000 for an Enniscorthy takeaway as the HSE brought a prosecution to the District Court last Wednesday. Defendant Kenan Dzhavidov, trading as Denis's Kebab House of Castle Hill, was not present for the proceedings. Evidence was given by his customers Ray Healy and Suzanne Ryan of 11 Ashgrove in The Paddock. Healy told the court how he ordered a takeaway for home delivery on January 6 last year. Ms. Ryan described how she applied salt, vinegar and red sauce to the batter sausage which she began to eat while watching television. She applied more condiments after noticing that the sausage did not taste as normal but this had no effect and she then saw a hairy black mould. She threw the sausage on the floor and vomited. Her partner preserved the sausage in the fridge. When there was no satisfactory explanation or apology from the takeaway the following day, he put it in the freezer and notified the health service. In court, environmental health officer Avril Beaumont confirmed that the sausage was sent for analysis at a laboratory in Cork. The lab test suggested that the black mould was aspergillus and that it was on the food before cooking. The incident prompted Ms. Beaumont to pay a call to the premises in Castle Hill on January 17 last year. She discovered that batter sausages were being par-cooked and then cooled overnight. She reckoned that this was poor procedure and that that anything left longer than two and a half hours should either be chilled or thrown out, for fear that mould could form. She also noted that solid fat was being stored in the potentially unhygienic toilet. Judge Gerard Haughton felt that the offences described were serious, the more so as the accused did not attend court. For serving unfit food, he recorded a €2,000 fine. Similar penalties were imposed for the unsafe method of preparing the batter sausages and for inappropriate storage of the fat. Witness expenses of €100 were awarded and Dzhavidov was further ordered to meet the HSE's legal costs. Source: http://www.independent.ie