Thursday, September 22, 2011

Infant Asthma and Mold Exposure

Researcher Tiina Reponen, has found an association between infant exposure to mold and the development of childhood asthma.  CNN reports that Indoor mold poses greatest asthma risk for babies.  The study found the usual association between damp building environments and increased asthma.  The authors suggest that families with infants take care of areas of mold growth and  water damage in their home and limit infants exposure to that environment.  This is an abstract of the article in August, 2011 issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.  A relatively clean and dry environment is a good place to support a health infant.

The Family Handyman offers tips for people doing their own step by step mold remediation.  Because of the relative complexity of the task, homeowners will often want this work done by and outside professional.  If antimicrobials are used in the mold remediation process in the state of Minnesota,  the outside firm must be certified in the use of Category I Antimicrobial Pesticides.  This is a link to the Manual available from the U of Minnesota bookstore.

A photo micrograph of Aspergillus niger  Photo N. Carlson

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