Hurricane-Associated Mold Exposures Among Patients at Risk for Invasive Mold Infections After Hurricane Harvey - Houston, Texas, 2017.

Hurricane-Associated Mold Exposures Among Patients at Risk for Invasive Mold Infections After Hurricane Harvey - Houston, Texas, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019 May 31;68(21):469-473 Authors: Chow NA, Toda M, Pennington AF, Anassi E, Atmar RL, Cox-Ganser JM, Da Silva J, Garcia B, Kontoyiannis DP, Ostrosky-Zeichner L, Leining LM, McCarty J, Al Mohajer M, Murthy BP, Park JH, Schulte J, Shuford JA, Skrobarcek KA, Solomon S, Strysko J, Chiller TM, Jackson BR, Chew GL, Beer KD Abstract In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused unprecedented flooding and devastation to the Houston metropolitan area (1). Mold exposure was a serious concern because investigations after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) had documented extensive mold growth in flood-damaged homes (2,3). Because mold exposure can cause serious illnesses known as invasive mold infections (4,5), and immunosuppressed persons are at high risk for these infections (6,7), several federal agencies recommend that immunosuppressed persons avoid mold-contaminated sites (8,9). To assess the extent of exposure to mold and flood-damaged areas among persons at high risk for invasive mold infections after Hurricane Harvey, CDC and Texas health officials conducted a survey among 103 immunosuppressed residents in Houston. Approximately half of the participants (50) engaged in cleanup of mold and water-damaged areas; these activities included heavy cleanup (23), such as removing furniture o...
Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep Source Type: research