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This document is also available as a PDF. THE KANSAS CITY STAR
SEARCHING FOR THE CULPRIT
A MOISTURE-LOVING FUNGUS IS TIED TO
MYSTERY AILMENTS
Sunday, July 4, 1999
Section: NATIONAL/WORLD
Page: A1
ALAN BAVLEY, The Kansas City Star
Illustration: Photos (2, color and b/w) Graphic (color) BEVERLY
BYNUM/The Kansas City Star DAVE EAMES/The Kansas City Star;
Sources: California Department of Health Services, Utah Department of
Health, Case Western Reserve University Steve and Julie McGuire and their
daughter Amy suffered various chronic health problems because of a mold,
Stachybotrys atra, that was in their Lee's Summit home. Using tape, Children's
Mercy Hospital industrial hygienist Sue Flappan collects a dust sample in an
Overland Park home to test for the mold Stachybotrys. Tests proved negative.
Where the mold grows For about six months last year, the McGuire household in Lee's Summit was
under siege by a little-known health hazard.
Amy, 15, was sidelined by chronic bronchitis and abdominal pains. Her
mother, Julie, was knocked out by fever and chills. Her father, Steve, suffered
bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia. Finally, a home inspection by Children's Mercy Hospital last summer
discovered the culprit: Stachybotrys atra, a greenish-black, slimy mold that
thrives on water and construction materials such as wallboard that contain
cellulose. Mold spores had been released into their house, the McGuires realized, when
a handyman replaced a leaky shower in their basement. When I told people, they thought I was crazy. ... People just don't want to
believe mold can do that,'' Julie McGuire recalled. But evidence is mounting that Stachybotrys is a health threat responsible for a
host of hard-to-diagnose medical problems. Researchers have identified the mold as the likely cause of potentially fatal
lung bleeding in infants. They've linked it to asthma and other respiratory
problems. And they've named it a suspect in sick-building and chronic-fatigue
syndromes. Some scientists remain skeptical, saying Stachybotrys isn't more harmful than 1 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 other molds. There's been a huge overreaction,'' said Dave Mannino, a lung specialist with
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cynics say it's a chance
to make money by charging for remediation the way asbestos is removed.'' Stachybotrys (pronounced stacky-botris'') has been found in houses, schools
and office buildings nationwide. It can lurk inside walls, behind wallpaper,
under carpets or on ceiling tiles where water leaks offer a breeding ground. In the past nine months, the mold has slowed construction of a federal
courthouse in St. Louis and forced the closing of a public library in New York
City. In the Kansas City area, Stachybotrys recently was implicated as the
cause of illnesses in an aging state office building downtown and in a
Hallbrook mansion in Leawood. I think it's a missing link to a lot of questions we've had,'' said Sue Flappan, a
Children's Mercy industrial hygienist. We've had patients go from doctor to
doctor without any explanation of what is wrong. Once they get rid of the
Stachybotrys problem, their life gets better.'' Flappan inspects the homes of children like Amy McGuire whose respiratory
ailments aren't responding to treatment. Flappan also has been called to
schools, offices and nursing homes where there have been unexplained
illnesses. In 24 of 69 buildings Flappan has examined in the past two years, she has
found Stachybotrys. Where the mold was cleaned up, health problems have
lessened or disappeared. We've been surprised,'' Flappan said. This mold is supposed to be very
infrequent, very rare. It's a lot more common problem than we ever thought it
would be.'' Mysterious maladies Like many other molds, Stachybotrys can trigger runny noses, sneezes and
other allergic reactions. But it also produces toxins that can cause memory and mood changes or
flulike symptoms that include fatigue, sore throats, headaches and difficulty
breathing, said Eckardt Johanning, a physician and environmental health
specialist with Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. Stachybotrys also might be responsible for some cases of chronic-fatigue
syndrome, he said. There are no indoor air-quality standards to limit exposure to Stachybotrys or
other molds, said Sidney Efross of the indoor air section of the Environmental
Protection Agency in San Francisco. 2 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 But the general consensus is mold doesn't belong inside,'' Efross said.
There's probably nothing we can call a safe level'' of Stachybotrys. Stachybotrys began receiving national attention in 1997 after researchers in
Cleveland linked the mold to serious and occasionally fatal lung bleeding in 21
infants. The infants lived in inner-city homes that had water damage from
flooding or plumbing leaks. As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged doctors to try to
ensure that infants were not be exposed to chronically moldy, water-damaged
environments. There's no question that Stachybotrys can produce severe toxins. If people
don't remediate (water damage), they can get very severe illness,'' said Dorr
Dearborn, a pediatrician at Case Western Reserve University School of
Medicine in Cleveland, who helped discover the connection between the
illnesses and Stachybotrys. Infants might be particularly vulnerable to Stachybotrys because their lungs
are growing fast, Dearborn said. As their lungs develop, capillaries grow to supply the lungs with blood.
Stachybotrys produces toxins called trichothecenes, which inhibit production
of a protein called collagen that makes capillaries strong. If a baby's lungs are stressed by illness or secondhand tobacco smoke,
capillaries weakened by trichothecenes could burst, Dearborn said. Since the Cleveland cases, lung bleeding in infants has been reported
throughout the United States. It happened suddenly last December to 1-month-old William Rippy of Kansas
City. His mother, Jodie Atherton, found him crying in pain. She picked him
up. His breathing sounded funny. He began to pant. Atherton got William to the Children's Mercy emergency room, where doctors
saved his life. William remained in the hospital for a week. Meantime, Flappan visited his
home and discovered the likely cause of William's illness. Above the closet of the baby's room was a leak in the roof. Stachybotrys was
growing on the closet wall and ceiling. William's father scrubbed out the closet and the roof leak was repaired.
William has been healthy since. Sick buildings Many buildings harbor Stachybotrys, said David Straus, a professor of
microbiology at Texas Tech University who investigates complaints of 3 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 sick-building syndrome. The syndrome refers to a collection of maladies in people, including runny
eyes and noses and flulike symptoms caused by indoor air pollution. Stachybotrys forced the Missouri Division of Youth Services last year to close
the program at its 934 Wyandotte St. office for children who have had run-ins
with the law. Those children now attend a similar program on Main Street. The mold appeared after the building was flooded by rains last summer. Some experts say Stachybotrys doesn't deserve to be called a lethal mold. It's been well known that mold in general is related to respiratory symptoms
... ,'' Mannino said. Virtually no one at CDC says anymore that toxic molds
kill babies.'' Researchers who investigated cases of infant lung bleeding in Chicago and
Detroit were unable to find the same link to Stachybotrys discovered in
Cleveland, Mannino said. The connection between Stachybotrys and deadly illness remains controversial
among some scientists because it's very difficult to prove, said Berlin Nelson, a
professor of plant pathology at North Dakota State University. Certainly, there's enough evidence that if you inhale enough of it you're
going to get sick. But we don't know how much you have to inhale,'' Nelson
said. Cleanup costly Removing Stachybotrys can be an expensive and laborious process. It's pretty scary when they come out in their full-body suits and respirators,''
said Laurie Chubb about the workers who removed Stachybotrys from the
basement playroom of her Overland Park house last year. Workers pulled up carpet and padding, ripped apart a built-in cabinet, and tore
out insulation and wallboard. Anything that couldn't be removed was
bleached. Two years ago, Laurie and Steve Chubb's son Brian, now 3, had a constant
runny nose, wheezing and a cough like a smoker's hack every morning and
evening. Just after his second birthday, he was diagnosed with asthma. His
doctor prescribed four kinds of inhalers. The Chubbs had Flappan inspect their house. She found significant amounts of
airborne mold spores in Brian's room and the playroom. The Chubbs moved Brian into his older brother's bedroom. They had the air
ducts and carpets cleaned and installed an electronic furnace filter. 4 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 Mold levels declined, but Brian still had asthma attacks. Flappan made another
visit. Laurie Chubb pointed out discolored wallboard from a basement leak: It
tested positive for Stachybotrys. That's when the Chubbs had their playroom ripped out. Brian's symptoms have
disappeared. He no longer needs asthma medications. Some homeowners are choosing to litigate when faced with water damage and
Stachybotrys. Jan and Anita Fichman became the talk of south Leawood last year when they
wrapped blue plastic sheeting around their $500,000 Hallbrook house to keep
out water. They sued Hallbrook Realty, their builder and others, saying faulty
construction let water into the house and allowed Stachybotrys to grow inside
the walls. The couple said the mold caused them and their two young sons to have
recurring eye irritation, sinus infections, headaches and other allergic
reactions. The Fichmans eventually removed the plastic and settled their lawsuit, but they
are prohibited by terms of the settlement from discussing the matter. Looking
for clues Research into Stachybotrys is under way at several medical centers to discover
how the mold causes illness. Dearborn of Case Western Reserve has found that newborn rats will die of
lung bleeding when quantities of Stachybotrys spores are put into their lungs. But he still is trying to explain how human infants might die by inhaling small
amounts of spores. Another reason for doubts about Stachybotrys' role in illness is that the mold
often does not turn up in cultures from air samples. That's because the
airborne spores die quickly, Dearborn said, even though their toxins remain
dangerous for years. Dearborn is working with the EPA on new genetic tests to identify molds from
spores in air samples. But the evidence against Stachybotrys is strong enough already to warrant
caution, said Efross of the EPA. We can't wait for the definitive answer of how it gets from point A to B,'' he
said. There is obviously a connection between Stachybotrys and bad health 5 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 effects. The thing to do is avoid it.'' To reach Alan Bavley, medical writer for The Star, call (816) 234-4858 or
send e-mail to abavley@kcstar.com Stachybotrys Q&A What are molds? Molds are simple, microscopic organisms found virtually everywhere, indoors
and outdoors. They are a type of fungus that can be found on plants, foods,
dry leaves and other organic material. Molds produce tiny, lightweight spores
that are capable of growing into new molds. Where is Stachybotrys found? There are about 15 species of Stachybotrys worldwide. Stachybotrys molds
are common in the western United States. They grow in areas where relative
humidity is above 55 percent. What do Stachybotrys molds look like? They are generally dark olive-gray and appear to be a slimy mass with either a
smooth or ridged surface. The spores are brownish. When the mold produces
spores, it may appear to have a powdery surface. When was Stachybotrys identified as a health hazard? Russian scientists identified Stachybotrys in straw and feed grain as the cause
of deadly disease outbreaks among horses and other animals in Ukraine during
the 1930s. In the early 1940s, there were reports in Russia of people suffering
from inflammations of the mouth and throat, chest tightness, fever, headache
and fatigue after burning straw or sleeping on straw-filled matresses
contaminated by Stachybotrys. Beginning in the 1980s, there have been
numerous cases of Stachybotrys-related illnesses in homes and other buildings
in the United States. Stachybotrys recently came to the attention of the
medical community after the mold was linked to fatal lung bleeding among
infants in Cleveland. How is Stachybotrys removed? Buildings with water damage should be repaired and all moldy material
removed. Cleaning up mold growth covering more than two square feet
requires professional advice or assistance. Smaller areas of mold may be cleaned with a solution of one cup of household
bleach mixed in one gallon of water with a small amount of dish soap. Apply
the solution to the mold surface with a sponge, let it sit for 15 minutes, then
thoroughly dry. Wear a dust mask and rubber gloves and make sure there is
good ventilation. 6 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM NewsLibrary Document Delivery http://newslibrary.krmediastream.com/cgi...cument/nl1_auth?DBLIST=kc99&DOCNUM=31096 Where can I get more information? For a brochure and a screening questionnaire to determine whether your home
may be causing health problems, call the allergy section of Children's Mercy
Hospital, 816-234-3097. Sources: California Department of Health Services, Utah Department of
Health, Case Western Reserve University, North Dakota State University. All content © 1999 THE KANSAS CITY STAR and may not be republished without
permission. All archives are stored on a SAVE (tm) newspaper library system from MediaStream Inc., a
Knight-Ridder Inc. company. 7 of 7 7/25/99 10:21 PM |
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