Black Mold Findings

Since the discovery that toxic spores from the

black mold Stachybotrys atra had caused at least ten infant deaths in Cleveland a few years ago (see

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 3), interest in and awareness of this problem has mushroomed—so to speak. Evidence of this mold has been found in numerous new studies, according to an October 13 MSNBC article. One Canadian study found evidence of the mold in 2% to 3% of homes surveyed, and Dorr Dearborn of Case Western Reserve (one of the researchers who first found the link between

S. atra and the Cleveland infant deaths) was quoted as saying that he has found evidence of the mold in more than half of inner-city homes surveyed. Also, for the first time there is now concrete medical evidence connecting the mold with pulmonary hemorrhage/hemosiderosis (the medical condition infants have died from). A report in the October issue of

Pediatrics reports that scientists, for the first time, have isolated the fungus from the bronchial fluid of a young victim.