December 12th, 2017
Background:A geographic cluster of 10 cases of pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis in infants occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, between January 1993 and December 1994. Study Design: This community-based case-control study tested the hypothesis that the 10 infants with pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis were more likely to live in homes where Stachybotrys atra was present than were 30 age- and ZIP code–matched control infants. We investigated the infants' home environments using bioaerosol sampling methods, with specific attention to S atra.Air and surface samples were collected from the room where the infant was reported to have spent the most time. Results: Mean colony counts for all fungi averaged 29227 colony-forming units (CFU)/m3 in homes of patients and 707 CFU/m3 in homes of controls. The mean concentration of S atra in the air was 43 CFU/m3 in homes of patients and 4 CFU/m3 in homes of controls. Viable S atra was detected in filter cassette samples of the air in the homes of 5 of 9 patients and 4 of 27 controls. The matched odds ratio for a change of 10 units in the mean concentration of S atra in the air was 9.83 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-3×106). The mean concentration of S atra on surfaces was 20×106 CFU/g and 0.007×106 CFU/g in homes of patients and controls, respectively. Conclusion: Infants with pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis were more likely than controls to live in homes with toxigenic S atra and other fungi in the indoor air.Arch PediatrAdolesc Med. 1998;152:757-762