Journal Top Ten - Columns-Mold - November 2003

photo-1photo-2photo-3photo-4

1 ARTICLE: "Stachybotrys chartarum: Cause of Human Disease or Media Darling?"

SUMMARY: According to the authors of this literature review on Stachybotrys chartarum, it is generally accepted that living or working in moldy environments is associated with building related asthma, exacerbating asthma in mold-sensitive asthmatics and increased rates of upper respiratory disease. However, they state that such relationships are with buildings-associated molds, which comprise many species that colonize wet or damp building materials, rather than with S. chartarum specifically. While they observe that there is limited evidence that severe lung damage can occur from …