Texas Tech scientists prove black mold causes tissue damage?
That's what KAMC28 news reports.
Microbiologists at the University led by Dr. David Straus used a Spincon to collect high concentrations of air, according to the report. The Spincon was built in 2001 to evaluate anthrax attacks.
Dr. Straus is quoted as saying: "What we have shown is when mold produces, and they actually are inhaled and get into human beings, it causes tissue damage."
In an e-mail exchange with me,however, Dr. Straus stated the reporter misunderstood: "What we showed was that the trichothecene mycotoxins actually get into the air in Stachybotrys infested buildings where they can be inhaled by human beings. I did not say that we know that this causes tissue damage. This is what we are not sure of. We do not know if the concentration of trichothecenes that gets into humans in these buildings causes any actual pathology. We do know that these compounds are toxic in humans but we don’t know if the concentrations that get into humans are sufficient to cause human disease. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding that this news report conveyed." The cite to the actual research is Brasel, Martin, Carricker, Wilson & Straus, Detection of Airborne Stachybotrys chartarum Macrocyclic Trichothecene Mycotoxins in the Indoor Environment, 71 APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY 7376(Nov. 2005).
Both the courts and scientists are struggling with the issue of how real a risk mold exposure is to public health. As I previously reported here and here, the courts are not in agreement on whether a physician may testify mold caused a plaintiff's health problems. Potential defendants such as mortgage lenders have taken undue comfort from a National Academy of Science Institute of Health Report, which opines that scientific studies establish no clear link between mold exposure in buildings and serious personal injury.
Are you aware of any studies that you regard as reliable that show a correlation between mold exposure and health complications?