Could a damp home be making you ill? Experts warn fungi could be wrecking our health - and many infections have stopped responding to drugs

Submitted by GAtherton on 24 August 2016

This article written by journalist Jo Waters for the UK newspaper the Daily Mail highlights both the hidden nature of the influence airborne moulds play in asthma and the lack of appreciation of the links between damp homes and respiratory health.

Asthma patient Jenny Ellingford had had asthma for many years but it was controlled and she lived her life to the full with the aid of inhaler medication.

Unfortunately her home was flooded by a freak downpour of rain and was not subsequently entirely dried out while her insurance company argued over the repairs. Moulds grew rapidly shortly followed by Jenny’s asthma dramatically worsening. Her doctors struggled to find a solution, presumably no-one suspected that the damp and mould could be responsible – it is not clear why her doctors did not link the two as the link between damp and asthma exacerbation have been known for some time albeit to specialists.

An emergency trip to hospital resulted in diagnosis of a chronic form of aspergillosis whereupon appropriate medication was started. Aspergillosis is an infection usually of the lungs by a fungus called Aspergillus. It is usually incurable but with good management is controllable for many years – however without accurate diagnosis deterioration is inevitable and can be fatal.

The message is clear. Damp homes and fungal infections can be extremely bad for our health, especially if you have asthma or other respiratory illnesses such as Tb, Cystic Fibrosis but some people are vulnerable despite having none of those. At the moment we cannot predict who will be sensitive to living in a damp home though research is ongoing to enable us to do that. We need to promote awareness of the dangers of damp homes and fungi to our health and the importance of the general public and the medical profession being well informed is paramount.

The article goes on to talk about the many other fungal infections that there are and to mention that current medication for the treatment of systemic fungal infections is gradually becoming less effective as resistance increases. Doctors are concerned that not enough is being done to find new antifugal drugs that will be more effective that those we have.

For more information on damp homes go here