Re: Fungi The Cause Of Many Outbreaks Of Disease, But Mostly Ignored

[Guest guest]

ever see that cartoon? waa,waawaa,waawaawaawaa,

katrina,waa,waawaa,natural labatory,waawaawaa, study,waa,bkack

mold,waa,waa,waa. track and report? waawaawaaa, how about demand

doctors get educated and reconize and treat and report? like starting

NOW!,waa,waa,waaa AND STOP THE ALLIENCE BS OR FACE THE MEDICAL

BOARD,waaawaawaaa. the end.

In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...> wrote:

>

> Fungi The Cause Of Many Outbreaks Of Disease, But Mostly Ignored

> ScienceDaily*

> (July 1, 2008) —

>

> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080701145522.htm

>

> Fungi can cause a number of life-threatening diseases but they also

> are becoming increasingly useful to science and manufacturing every

> year. However, many people, scientists among them, are largely

> unaware of the roles fungi play in the world around us.

>

>

> Research on fungi and fungal diseases are seriously neglected as a

> result -- a situation with grave negative repercussions for human

> health, agriculture, and the environment-- according to The Fungal

> Kingdom: Diverse and Essential Roles in Earth's Ecosystem, a new

> report from the American Academy of Microbiology.

>

> The report is the product of a colloquium convened by the Academy

in

> November, 2007, where experts in mycology, medicine, plant

> pathogens, and ecology discussed the current state of research in

> mycology and compiled a list of specific recommendations for future

> work.

>

> " The average person is at risk for several fungal diseases, from

> toenail infections to athlete's foot to life threatening systemic

> infections, " says Arturo Casadevall of the Albert Einstein College

> of Medicine and one of the co-chairs of the colloquium. " Fungi may

> also predispose people to asthma and allergic diseases, " says

> Casadevall. Despite the frequency of fungal infections, according

to

> the report they are relatively understudied, making fungal

> infections difficult to diagnose and treat. When faced with an

> undiagnosed fungal infection, doctors are forced to treat their

> patient without a firm grasp of which drugs will work and which

> drugs will only cost the patient valuable time.

>

> But fungi are more than just a medical problem: as the cause of

more

> than half of all plant diseases, fungi are also an expensive drain

> on agriculture. The economic repercussions of managing fungal

> pathogens on crops -- the money and effort spent, the numerous

> pesticide applications, the consequences of these applications for

> surface water and soil quality, and the impacts on crop yields --

> are extraordinary.

>

> In the environment, fungi are not seen as a liability but as an

> integral part of their ecosystems They break down dead plants and

> animals (organic matter) into the building blocks plants need for

> growth and they engage in beneficial symbiotic relationships with

> plants, all functions necessary for maintaining healthy ecosystems.

>

> When an ecosystem is disturbed, fungi can behave in unexpected and

> often destructive ways, as in the case of the black mold that is

> overrunning the areas surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

> in Ukraine and outbreaks of coral bleaching that are destroying

> coral reefs. Scientists still do not understand fungi well enough

to

> predict how these organisms will behave when their environment is

> disturbed.

>

> Industry and food manufacturing benefit in many ways from the work

> fungi do. " Fungi are workhorses for research and biotechnology, "

> according to ph Heitman of the Duke University Medical Center,

> the other co-chair of the colloquium. " Both the hepatitis B vaccine

> and Gardasil (the vaccine for papilloma virus) are produced in

> yeast, " he notes.

>

> The importance of fungi to human health, agriculture, the

> environment, and industry demands that we gain a better

> understanding of these organisms. Some of the report's key

> recommendations include:

>

> Evaluate the Impacts of Mold in Homes and Businesses

>

> There is a serious lack of scientific data to support any stance

> with respect to indoor mold toxicity or remediation. More effort

> should be devoted to testing and long-term monitoring of mold

> contamination and human health in New Orleans and other areas

> flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Natural disasters like Hurricane

> Katrina provide natural laboratories for understanding how fungi

> respond to disturbance and the subsequent impacts they have on

human

> health.

>

> Create a Fungal Genomes Database

>

> Researchers involved with fungi must focus efforts on developing a

> comprehensive fungal genomics database in order to make the vast

> quantities of sequence data more available and to enable the field

> to fully capitalize on the promise of genomics.

>

> Report and Track Fungal Infections

>

> Public health agencies should implement formal programs to report

> cases, track disease progress, and design interventions in

outbreaks

> of fungal disease. The lack of reporting and tracking systems has

> made it difficult to control the spread of fungal pathogens,

because

> good epidemiological data on the scope of infection is usually not

> available.

>

> --------------------------------------------------------------------

-

> -----------

>

> Adapted from materials provided by American Society for

Microbiology.

> Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of

> the following formats:

> APA

>

> MLA American Society for Microbiology (2008, July 1). Fungi The

> Cause Of Many Outbreaks Of Disease, But Mostly Ignored.

> ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from

> http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080701145522.htm

>

[Guest guest]

In the entire 48 page report, from the American Society for

Microbiology, the following paragraph is the ONLY mention of Sick

Building Syndrome. But, looking on the bright side, the words were

boxed and highlighted in their PDF file, so that, at least, is some

progress from our having been just a " footnote " in the past. I will

try to post the link to their PDF, soon, or failing that, I will

download their PDF file to our " Sickbuildings Files " section of our

web site.

....................................................

FUNGI AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY: WHAT'S THE EVIDENCE?

Sick building syndrome is an important environmental problem, one

that may be due to airbornemold spores or toxins. A huge industry has

sprung up around diagnosing and treating the problem of " toxic mold, "

and litigation in these cases is not uncommon. However, there is a

serious lack of scientific data to support any stance with respect to

indoor mold toxicity or remediation, and, although efforts to

understand the relationship between fungal growth and sick building

syndrome have begun, a great deal of work lies ahead to

scientifically validate its existence. Current studies are limited to

cultivatable fungi that sporulate profusely, but there is evidence

that uncultivatable fungi, basidiomycetes, for example, contribute to

asthma and may be key players in health aspects of indoor air. Here,

genetic and genomic studies will be the principal means of

identifying and studying the fungi. Sick building syndrome may be a

particular problem in New Orleans and other areas on the Gulf Coast

that were flooded by hurricane Katrina in 2005. Indoor mold growth is

rampant in these regions, and individuals and institutions alike have

associated fungal growth with respiratory disease in the absence of

conclusive medical evidence. This deficit should be addressed

promptly. The relationship between fungi and allergic respiratory

conditions, including asthma, is also poorly understood. The asthma

rate among children in the U.S. and elsewhere is skyrocketing, and

doctors and parents alike are struggling to find the causes of the

epidemic. There is evidence that some cryptococcal lung infections

may alter the immune polarity of the lung to predispose towards the

development of pathologic lung responses such as those seen in

asthma. Recent work suggests fungi may be to blame for many cases of

allergic respiratory distress, but current evidence and research data

are anecdotal and are not sufficient for prescribing treatment plans

for patients or remediation programs for their workplaces or homes.

There is a great need for scientific scrutiny in this field.

.............................................................

-- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> Fungi The Cause Of Many Outbreaks Of Disease, But Mostly Ignored

> ScienceDaily*

> (July 1, 2008) —

>

> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080701145522.htm

>

> Fungi can cause a number of life-threatening diseases but they also

> are becoming increasingly useful to science and manufacturing every

> year. However, many people, scientists among them, are largely

> unaware of the roles fungi play in the world around us.

> The report is the product of a colloquium convened by the Academy

in

> November, 2007, where experts in mycology, medicine, plant

> pathogens, and ecology discussed the current state of research in

> mycology and compiled a list of specific recommendations for future

> work.

>

> There is a serious lack of scientific data to support any stance

> with respect to indoor mold toxicity or remediation. More effort

> should be devoted to testing and long-term monitoring of mold

> contamination and human health in New Orleans and other areas

> flooded by Hurricane Katrina. Natural disasters like Hurricane

> Katrina provide natural laboratories for understanding how fungi

> respond to disturbance and the subsequent impacts they have on

human health.

>

> Adapted from materials provided by American Society for

Microbiology.

> MLA American Society for Microbiology (2008, July 1). Fungi The

> Cause Of Many Outbreaks Of Disease, But Mostly Ignored.

> ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from

> http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080701145522.htm

>

[Guest guest]

Ya know jeanine, what I remember the most about katrina is probobly the most

discusting thing from the government I know of was them asking or however it

happened Dr. Shoemaker to leave. And now I hear over and over this thing they

call " the katrina cough " worse is that they admit it is from the mold and toxins

on the walls. Everytime I think about this I think how I would prefer to kick a

brick wall bare footed that have to admit this is how our country

operates.........

[Guest guest]

to quote from Dr.Phil, " hows that working for you? " lol, that should

become our goverments logo.

>

> Ya know jeanine, what I remember the most about katrina is probobly

the most discusting thing from the government I know of was them asking

or however it happened Dr. Shoemaker to leave. And now I hear over and

over this thing they call " the katrina cough " worse is that they admit

it is from the mold and toxins on the walls. Everytime I think about

this I think how I would prefer to kick a brick wall bare footed that

have to admit this is how our country operates.........

>