AAP News Vol. 13 No. 4 April 1997, p. 3
© 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics
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Infant lung bleeding linked to fungi in water-damaged homes

Ruth Etzel M.D., Ph.D., FAAP

A recently completed epidemiologic investigation of a cluster of cases of idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis among infants in Cleveland, Ohio, has identified an association between pulmonary hemorrhage/hemosiderosis in these infants and mold growth in their water-damaged homes.

The Cleveland infants with pulmonary hemorrhage lived in homes that had suffered water damage as a result of chronic plumbing leaks or flooding. The water damage may have promoted the growth of a variety of fungi, including the toxigenic fungus Stachybotrys atra, the toxins of which have been implicated in hemorrhagic disorders in animals. Because S. atra requires water-saturated cellulose-based materials for growth in buildings, it is considered uncommon in homes.