02x07 - Fatal Fungus

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Narrator: spores from the

Stachybotrys atra mold were

Found in all but one of the sick

Infants' homes, but were also

Found in half of the homes of

Healthy children living in the

Same neighborhood.

Scientists wanted to know why

Some children developed lung

Bleeding while others did not.

They soon discovered that the

Number of airborne spores in the

Sick babies' homes were far

Higher than in the homes of

Healthy children.

In effect, the homes of sick

Babies contained more spores and

More poison.

Stachybotrys is generally not

Considered one of the major

Components of indoor air --

Major fungal components of

Indoor air.

In fact, it's often not observed

At all.

In a study in canada just a few

Years ago, they examined a few

Hundred houses -- I don't

Remember the exact number -- but

They saw something like three

Colonies in all of these houses

Combined.

We observed levels as high as



Cubic meter of air in some of

The cleveland homes.

Narrator: researchers found

The source of the stachybotrys

Spores -- in the basements

Growing on walls, on boxes, and

Even on the insulation behind

The walls.

For stachybotrys to develop, two

Things are necessary -- a

Cellulose product and water.

Researchers discovered that some

Heavy rainstorms caused the

Sewer system in the geographic

Cluster of case homes to

Overflow, which produced

Flooding in many of the

Basements.

In other homes, the residents

Said they had some leaking

Pipes.

The water was not immediately

Cleaned up and soaked through

The drywall and the insulation

Inside the walls, creating the

Perfect medium for stachybotrys

To grow -- in the warm, moist,

Dark environment.

But if the stachybotrys was in

The basement of these homes, how

Did the children come into

Contact with the spores since

None of the sick children had

Been in the basement?

Researchers discovered that when

The mold dried, the spores

Flaked away and became airborne.

The furnaces of these homes all

Drew air from the basement

Instead of the upper floors.

The spores were sucked into the

Furnace, traveled through the

Ductwork, and made their way

Into every room of the homes.

Tragically, they were blown into

The rooms where they could do

The most damage -- into the

Infants' bedrooms, where the

Babies spent most of their time

Sleeping.

Once inside the infants' lungs,

The spores released the

Mycotoxins called

Trichothecenes, which prevented

The infants' cells from making

The protein needed to hold their

Tiny vessels together.

With the vessels now weak and

Fragile, an external trigger may

Have caused the tiny vessels to

Rupture and bleed.

Since most of the sick babies

Lived in homes with cigarette

Smoking, this may have been one

Of the triggers.

And none of the sick babies had

Been breast-fed, leading

Researchers to suspect that

Breast milk offered some sort of

Immunity.

Older children and adults were

Not affected by the stachybotrys

Spores because their lungs were

Better developed.

And once researchers found how

The stachybotrys spores traveled

From the basements to the

Children's rooms, they

Discovered why little

Brian mitchell was so much

Sicker than his twin sister,

Brianna.

Although the two slept in the

Same crib, brian slept closer to

The heating vent, where he

Probably inhaled more spores

Than his twin sister.

By the time the investigation

Was over, there were over 30

Cases of pulmonary hemosiderosis

In cleveland, and four young

Infants died.

Health officials urged parents

To remove all visible mold with

Bleach and water, and to clean

Up water damage immediately to

Prevent the mold from

Developing.

One year after this

Investigation, the coroner in

Cleveland reopened the files of



Had been listed as

Sudden infant death syndrome.

Lung tissue samples from their

Autopsies were re-examined in

Light of what doctors now knew

About stachybotrys atra.

In six of those samples, the

Lung samples turned blue, an

Indication that the babies had

Bleeding in their lungs prior to

Their death.

Officials believe that

Stachybotrys atra may have

Played a role in those six

Deaths.

Yolande prevo is the mother of

One of those six babies.

Knowing the true cause of her

Daughter's death helps bring

Some closure to her family's

Tragedy.

I don't think that you could

Get any worse than this, outside

Of literally going to hell

Alive.

There's nothing worse than this

Because this is something you

Will never, ever get over.

And you'll always wonder, "what

Could I have done," no matter

How many times you hear there

Was nothing you could have done.

I feel remorse.

I feel their pain, because I was

Standing there at one time

Wondering if my son's gonna die.

Narrator: neema williams is

Thankful that her two children,

Brian and brianna, both survived

Their encounter with

Stachybotrys atra.

When I see a little baby's

Face who is doing well, I think

Way beyond myself and thank the

Help that has come to all of us

In trying to sort this out,

Because we didn't do it alone.

Something simple, but so

Deadly, you know?

I mean, mother nature has a

Bunch of stuff out there that we

Don't know about yet, and this

Was one of them.