Yves,

From my experiences over the years with Aspergillus and most molds in general, contact is minimized to air, so unless the human has respiratory sensitivity to moulds, then chances of reaction are drastically minimal. That said, this is California and there mere mention of moulds not in your favorite cheeses will send everyone running through the streets screaming of the end of the world and suing for wrongful breathing claims.

Despite the minimized response to this bacterium by most people, hence why the growth goes unnoticed until it's odors become strong enough to be distinguishable, it absolutely needs to be removed and disinfected to prevent a return growth.

There were a few studies and papers written after the Katrina hurricane floods in New Orleans Louisiana. They are not specific to Aspergillus (though it and penicillian are usually the strongest focus of most studies) to my recollection but the data on the effects of mould exposure are concise in long term exposure results in respiratory distress and or damage.

This is one of the best studies I know of from New Orleans and what I reference when dealing with agencies and clients who have moulds of many colors growing in their wood/drywall and cement sub straights

Thank you Jay, sure you know a lot about Roquefort and Camenbert, our french pride ! In fact, we met many children with respiratory diseases as asthma or rhinitis in those substandard housings we do visit currently and those dwellings are infested with many kind of fungus like Aspergillus and Stachybotris. When the parents are forced to clean those by themselves, it usually increases the symptoms, so we try to convince authorities to force the owners to have it cleaned by professional teams.

Best regards

Your are welcome Monsieur!!

It sounds like you have all of the evidence needed to present your findings, and those findings are not a surprise in any way.

That said, forcing is not necessary if the authorities are willing to pay for it to be done. If the authorities are not paying for it, and want to force the home owners to pay instead, then there will be absolutely resistance regardless of data and health concerns because they are not in a monetary position to act on this and if they were they would still delay in action knowing that the effects from exposure are accumulative rather than immediate. Their solution may be to open more windows for air exchange rather than something as simply as bleach cleaning.

A great example of this is the ratio of showers in the world that have yeasts and molds growing in them because of like conditions. The supermarket has entire isles dedicated to products that will quickly and easily administer biocidal needs as well as clean and shine, yet this is something few pay attention to until the time comes that the molds and yeasts are odoriferous enough to gain your attention. It will still be overlooked until the last minute or until spring cleaning comes around once a year.

So I can only wish you the best of luck in your efforts to fix a problem that affects children, and as a father of three, nothing is more important than your children and their health.

Thank you Sir

Well, trough ReasearchGate, Ulla Haverinen-Shaughnessy sent me an article : "Prevalence of dampness and mold in European housing stock" which gave me good elements, and Cédric Chéong did also help me well in understanding mould exposure risks, especially by giving me the link towards the site to which he contributes and where he explains the problems with bleaching : http://mycologia.com.au/dont-use-bleach/.

So gradually, thanks to you all, I start to build our argumentation.

I hope I will be able to send the results of our project soon.

Hi Yves,

Thanks for the compliments. Please find attached a few more publications that might assist in your case.

Article Aflatoxin B1 Transfer and Metabolism in Human Placenta

This one is on aspergillus fumigatus infections.

Article Enemy of the (immunosuppressed) state: An update on the path...

This one looks at how exposure potentially impairs child growth

Article The Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Aflatoxin Driven Impai...

Hi Cedric,

thank you so much for all your contributions, the greatest thanks will be the recognition of the families which we will be able to leave the insalubrity of their residences. Two weeks ago we succeeded in obtaining the rehousing of a mom of which one of the children was under respiratory assistance because of moulds infesting their housing in spite of several cleanings (under a nontight platform roof...), and we have refers to your work and Ulla's to convince the suitable service of housing to quickly allot a healthy housing with them !

The bright smile of that mom when she get the great new proves that we do not work in vain !

That brings a smile to my face. I too just last week was able to assist a couple with a 15 month old suffering respiratory symptoms to get compensation from a tribunal and to get out of the property they were renting and into another property free from mould. I am convinced like you that greater awareness is required with a call to action for regulatory agencies, real estate property management, health departments and the legal fraternity.

I am seriously thinking of writing a book gathering a collection of testimonies of the experiences these families have gone through and faced amidst their exposure and shedding light to the wider community. Maybe we can conduct a joint venture across the oceans! Keep up your fight Yves.

That's a brillant idea. We are already about to start writing, collectively with all the actors involved, the story with an other mom, who lived in a flat with lead paints and moulds, without a residence permit and with a violent husband. So we started working with this woman, her neighbors, one elected of the city, several services, an association of women, and could make evolve the situation, obtain papers for this lady, have her husband judged, find a housing to her, provisional but healthy, a work, and to collect her joy at the time of a festival she organized for us all one month ago ! I will send it to you when it will be written (it may takes a few months), and collect testimonies with other families. The only point wille be translation, as you can see my english is not realy fluent !!

Best regards

Tho Stachybotryus  spores include significant mycotoxin, there are no reliable reports of human pathology from this toxin in indoor air .  CDC published one report some years back but later retracted.   Reports of mycotoxin and illness in indoor environments are circumstantial and there are reports for lack of association (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12068/references)

Dear Yves, I believe that the hard evidence in terms of well conducted epidemiological or toxicological studies on the adverse health effects of individual Aspergillus and Stachybotrys species is relatively scarce, after everything that has been written about the Cleveland cases. This does obviously not mean that there wouldn't be those effects, it's just been not researched in a sound way. Much information that is around is based on case-reports. I am sure you are aware of all the work that

Mycotoxins may be an issue with these moulds - i am sure you are aware of all the work that Jim Pestka has been doiong on Stachybotrys toxins? Eg. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22552393

Generally, I think that the WHO guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould. are a great reference to have when it comes to advice on the health risk of exposure to indoor dampness and visible mould. Find here - hope that helps a bit.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143941/