This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Mold exposure prevention key after natural disaster
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
More than a third of immunocompromised individuals in the Houston area participated in cleanup activities after Hurricane Harvey last year that could have placed them at risk for invasive mold infections, and most did not wear the personal protective equipment that is recommended by health agencies, according to findings presented at the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service conference this week.
In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey devasted Texas, pouring up to 50 inches of rainfall on Houston and other coastal areas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Mitsuru Toda, MS, PhD, an EIS officer in CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch, cautioned immunocompromised individuals to stay away from mold-infected sites.
“Invasive mold infections are severe and frequently fatal. Exposure to mold-damaged homes after flooding might increase the risk of such infections, although data are limited,” Toda told Infectious Disease News.
Toda and colleagues identified immunocompromised patients in the Houston metro area who either used immunosuppressive medications from July 15 to Oct. 15, 2017, or received a solid organ transplant between Oct. 15, 2016, and Oct. 15, 2017. Phone interviews were conducted with 110 individuals at high risk for invasive mold infection, and questionnaires were administered in both English and Spanish, according to the presentation.
Toda and colleagues found that of the 110 individuals who were interviewed, 38% “cleaned or remediated their own or other people’s homes that were affected by the hurricane.”
When cleaning up mold, protective equipment like goggles, gloves, long pants and shirts, water proof boots and an N95 respirator should be worn, according to the CDC. However, Toda and colleagues found that a respirator was only worn by only 26% of those who helped with cleanup. Additionally, 71% wore gloves, 21% wore boots, 7% wore goggles and only one person wore all the personal protective equipment recommended by the CDC and other health agencies. Heavy cleaning, including removing furniture, pulling out drywall and carpet or using a pressure washer, which can dislodge mold spores, was reported by 24 people. Of those, only 42% wore a respirator.
Toda and colleagues found that people were more likely to use N95 respirators if they learned about them from their health care provider.
“Clinicians can advise all patients who will be cleaning up mold to wear N95 respirators and other protective equipment and recommend that immunocompromised people stay away from such buildings when possible,” Toda said. “Infectious disease clinicians can be vigilant for invasive mold infections.”
Public health agencies, such as the Houston Health Department and the CDC, provide disaster cleanup recommendations, mold exposure prevention guidelines and information regarding the effects mold can have on an individual’s health.
Toda and colleagues concluded that additional messaging and outreach are needed to prevent mold exposure, especially for individuals at a high risk for developing invasive mold infection.
Ernest Baskin, PhD, assistant professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, suggested that the public may not always be aware of the online resources provided by the CDC and other health agencies.
“I think it is important to make sure that health and safety messaging is given out at the point of choice, or the time when people will actively consider whether or not they are going to engage in an action,” Baskin told Infectious Disease News. – by Marley Ghizzone
Disclosures: Toda and Baskin report no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
References:
Toda M, et al. Hurricane-associated mold exposures among patients at risk of invasive mold infections — Houston, Texas, 2017. Presented at: Epidemic Intelligence Service conference; April 16-19, 2018; Atlanta.
CDC. Mold after a disaster. https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/mold/. Accessed April 16, 2018.
CDC. Disaster clean up. https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/cleanup/facts.html. Accessed April 16, 2018.
NOAA. Reviewing Hurricane Harvey's catastrophic rain and flooding. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/reviewing-hurricane-harveys-catastrophic-rain-and-flooding. Accessed April 17, 2018.
Harris County Public Health. Hurricane Harvey. http://publichealth.harriscountytx.gov/About/Organization/OPHPR. Accessed April 17, 2018.