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For info on mold removal, please click:
Mold Removal.
To
find a
Certified Mold
Inspector
or Remediator please visit
Certified
Mold Inspector.
For info on how fungus [ fungi mold ] cause breathing
problem in infants visit
Breathing Problem
Disseminated coccidioidomycosis,
caused by
Coccidioides immitis. |
Mold-Caused Skin Diseases
Mold causes dozens of serious skin
diseases. This page explains one mold-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 please visit the web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5045a1.htm
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