Submitted by BethBradshaw on 30 January 2018
Hurricane Irene (2011) and Hurricane Sandy (2012) devastated the Atlantic coast of the USA, causing around $84 billion worth of damage in total. Homes were left flooded and prone to mould, creating a serious health risk for inhabitants through exposure to large volumes of spore allergens.
At a private practice in New Jersey, Dr Diego Saporta noticed that routine patient evaluations for allergic conditions seemed to be reacting to more different allergens, at weaker concentrations. With the help of Dr David Hurst at Tufts University, Boston, he demonstrated that this was statistically significant by examining allergy charts covering 2003-2010 (pre-hurricanes) and 2014-2015 (post-hurricanes) for whom intradermal dilution skin testing (IDT) was performed (see paper for full inclusion/exclusion criteria).
After the hurricanes, the chance of the test being positive was 3.5x greater than before them, and the proportion of reactive patients reacting to weak concentrations of allergen jumped from 3% to 25%. Interestingly, the proportion of patients younger than 18 increased from 12% to 29% during this time.
A direct link between these increases in allergies and the two hurricanes remains to be proven, but these results could be a hint of things to come as climate change progresses. Learn more about hurricanes at BBC News.
If your home has been affected by mould following flooding, the CDC advises people living in the US to choose a flood remediation professional who is a member of the IICRC or ASCR. To help with insurance claims, document damage photographically and keep all receipts for materials and services, or contact FEMA if you are uninsured. Or click here for an article with plenty of practical tips.
Read the full paper: Saporta and Hurst (2017) Increased Sensitization to Mold Allergens Measured by Intradermal Skin Testing following Hurricanes. J Environ Public Health: 2793820.
Mould inside a building caused by hurricane Sandy.
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