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Description and
Habitats
Stachybotrys,
sometimes misspelled as Stachybotris is a greenish
black mould that grows on material with a high cellulose content or such as
hay, straw, wicker, and wood chips, as well as building materials such as
ceiling tile, drywall, paper vapor barriers, wallpaper, insulation backing,
cardboard boxes, paper files, fiberboard, the paper covering of gypsum
wallboard, particleboard, jute, dust, and wood when these items become water
damaged. This mould requires very wet or high humid conditions for days or
weeks in order to grow. Most mould spores can begin growing after just
24 hours of wetness, whereas Stachybotrys spores take at least 48 hours of
sustained wetness to begin growth.
Stachybotrys mould survives and grows best in a continually wet environment such
as a slow water leak in a wall, or in a building suffering from ongoing high
humidity levels. Excessive indoor humidity
resulting in water vapor condensation on walls, plumbing leaks, spills from
showering or bathing, water leaking through foundations or roofs may lead to
growth of many types of mould, including stachybotrys.
Because Stachybotrys
spores are rarely airborne, Stachy is usually identified by direct swabs,
or lift tape samples of the mould itself with laboratory analysis of the
collected physical samples. When active and growing in a wet environment, Stachy can look black, shiny, and slimy.
Species
Based on
the information provided on the informative mycological website,
www.doctorfungus.org, the
genus Stachybotrys has a single well-known species which is Stachybotrys chartarum.
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Stachybotrys
chartarum |
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Giant colony on
PDA |
POTATO DEXTROSE AGAR (PDA)
Poteto extract 200 g
Glucose: 20 g
Distilled water: 1 L
Agar: 15 g
pH 5.6 |
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Slide culture on
PDA |
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Courtesy of the
website Pathogenic Fungi Database. |
Health Effects
Health problems associated with
Stachybotrys chartarum were first noted in the 1930’s and 1940’s when
Russian and Eastern European farm animals specifically horses ate moldy hay
experienced immune system suppression, infection and bleeding that was fatal
with high doses. In 1938, Russian scientists determined the disease was
associated with stachybotrys (then known as S. alternans)
growing on the straw and grain fed to the animals.
While the
first reported human health effects were seen in agricultural workers who
handled the moldy straw or hay. In the early 1940's reports of stachybotryotoxicosis in humans appeared in Russia. People affected where
those who handled or were in close contact with hay or feed grain infested
with stachybotrys. Some of these individuals had burned the straw or
slept on straw-filled mattresses. Common symptoms in humans were dermatitis,
pain and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, a
burning sensation of the nasal passages, tightness of the chest, cough,
bloody rhinitis, fever, headache and fatigue.
Between the
1950's and the 1980's there were continued publications on
stachybotryotoxicosis but few that indicated a potential problem with
stachybotrys in homes and buildings. In 1986, Croft et al. reported an
outbreak of trichothecene toxicosis in a Chicago home. Over a 5-year
period, the family complained of headaches, sore throats, flu-like symptoms,
recurring colds, diarrhea, fatigue, dermatitis and general malaise. Air
sampling of this home revealed spores of stachybotrys. The fungus
was found growing on moist organic debris in an uninsulated cold air duct
and on some wood fiber ceiling material. The home had a chronic moisture
problem that favored mould growth. Extracts from the duct debris and
contaminated building materials were toxic to test animals and several macrocyclic trichothecenes were identified in the extracts. When the mould
problem was corrected, these symptoms associated with trichothecene
toxicosis disappeared.
Since the
collapse of the Twin Towers, many surrounding buildings have been discovered
in NYC that were contaminated with "heavy amounts of stachybotrys."
Most of these buildings were old and water damaged. With more public
awareness, there will be more and more reports of stachybotrys
appearances. What many news stories have down played, however, is the fact
that there were high amounts of asbestos residue intermingled with the
building debris, thus making the aftermath much more toxic than what may
have been expected. Any aerosol tests that may have been performed would
have picked up several types of evidence of sick-building syndrome. A small
portion of that would have been, at best, stachybotrys of the ruined
muddle of destruction, but it is important to remember everything has been
quite stirred up due to unnatural occurrences to Ground Zero.
More information on Historical Health Effects of
Stachybotrys on this link:
Stachybotrys chartarum.
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Stachybotrys mould growing in and on drywall.
Courtesy of Case
Western Reserve University. |
Stachybotrys
Report
Learn all
about the medical health effects of Stachybotrys and the medical treatment
of Stachybotrys- caused health problems by reading The
Stachybotrys Report
by Michelle Medalla, M.D. and mould expert. Please include your email address for delivery of your report when you order [$15] by clicking the "Buy
Now" order button below---
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Macroscopic
Features
Stachybotrys
produces cottony, rapidly growing colonies which mature in about 4 days.
From both front and reverse, the color of the colony is white initially
and turns to black by aging.
Microscopic
Features
Septate
hyphae, conidiophores, phialides, and conidia are observed. The hyphae and
the conidiophores appear hyaline initially and become darkly pigmented
with age. The conidiophores which may be simple or branched, bear
phialides at their apices. These phialides are hyaline or pigmented,
cylindrical in shape, and have swollen upper portions. They form clusters
of 3 to 10. The conidia (4.5 x 9 µm) are oval, hyaline or pigmented,
1-celled, and in clusters.
Laboratory
Precautions
No
special precautions other than general laboratory precautions are
required.
Susceptibility
No
data are available. |
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