Is There A Way To Estimate Length Of Time A Fungal Colony Has Been Growing?

Jackson Kung'u

Question: Is there a way to estimate the length of time a fungal colony or colonies have been growing? I’m sure that is based on the type of mold, water availability, temperature, food availability, etc. However, in the district we have found several mold growth areas that appear to have been active for several weeks (based totally on assumptions), not a matter of days as is relayed in the information provided.

Answer:. It’s difficult to tell the length of time a fungal colony or colonies have been growing. As you mentioned the rate of fungal growth will depend on water availability, temperature, food availabity, presence/absence of
growth inhibitors and most important the type of fungus. If we know the type of fungus and if it’s still actively growing,
then we can estimate the length of time the fungal colony has been growing. Under laboratory conditions, most fungi will
produce visible colonies in 3-5 days (some fast growing ones within 2 days) and produce spores within 5-10 days.

What is the Difference Between Bacteria And Mold?

Jackson Kung'u

Questions:

I found black spots on the outside part of the neck of a plastic bottle of wine. They evolved over time into mushy, mold looking marks. I was told they were bacteria and so harmless. My questions are:

What is the difference between bacteria and mold?
Can bacteria actually grow into “beard-looking” stuff?
Is it really safe?

Many thanks.

Answers:

The main differences between molds, which are fungi, and bacteria are:
- Fungi have a proper nucleus in their cells and bacteria do not.
- Fungi are eukaryotes, that’s their DNA is enclosed in a nucleus which is separated from the cytoplasm by a nuclear membrane, bacteria are prokaryotes, that’s their DNA is not sepatated from the cytoplasm in a nucleus.
- Fungal cells are complex while bacterial cells are simple. Fungi have structures in their cells such as mitochondria which bacteria do not have.
Bacteria mainly exist as single cells. However, a few are filamentous and therefore may grow into “beard-looking” stuff
It’s not safe to drink or eat anything contaminated by microorganisms. While not all microorganisms are harmful, there very high chances that a harmful bacterium or fungus could be present.

Mold Development Within Home

Jackson Kung'u

Question:

My question regards mold development within home resulting from delayed response to correct water leak. We had a pipe leak in the manifold of a room in our home which was also under the slab and resulted in water damage to carpeting, drywall, furniture, x-ray film, various paper documents, retail goods, decor and other personal items which were immediately moved to the living room and family room. The damaged room is joined to the kitchen and bathroom. Both of these rooms were also affected. The kitchen cabinetry and toe touch had an 97%-99% moisture ten plus days after the repair to the drywall in the opposing room. Upon the opened toe touch area being dried-out, it still had 19-27% moisture detected that had remained without being dried-out.

The originating room was never dried out. Upon the insurance contractor coming to dry-out the wall had dried but the kitchen area affected had not. Meanwhile the toe kicks were removed and area dried out.

However, the carpet and all other damaged house hold furniture redistributed to other rooms, as well those within the room and other household items and paper documents remained as well the open slab and drywall in the office where the repair was done. Approximately three weeks later, I had testing done in the home as I had been experiencing health problems which had reoccurred and advanced to bilateral skin rashes on full limbs from upper respiratory, eyes, flu-like symptoms with fever, weakness, head and fatigue…

The testing after a three week period of the repaired piping showed elevated levels of spores which were greater than five times the amount outdoors. For instance in the room/office, Aspergillus/penicillium had a raw score of 261, at 86% and spores/m3 of air at 1749. Other fungal spores were ascospores, Cladosporium, smuts/myxomytcetes which were present. Total fungal spores/m3 was 2044, 305 raw and 100%.

The kitchen had 275 spores/m3 for aspergillus/penicillium, 147 spores/m3 for Cladosporium, 13 rusts spores/m3, 7 smuts/myxomycetes spores/m3, with total fungal spores at 456. There was one area under the cabinet that had a dark spot which was sampled. The spot was located at the edge near where the toe kick would connect. The spot tested as “major” Aspergillus/penicillium while there were no visible signs in the office of spots. However, there were two strips of molding that were in the bathroom which had been removed from the office upon repair to the pipe weeks prior, one tested showed an “abundant” aspergillus/penicillium-like fungi.

The week of Thanksgiving, I looked under the cabinet where my pots/pans glass cookware are stored-which would be the wood in the area of the toe kick which holds the cookware’s shelf. I noticed spots from end to end on the full board. I have not looked since. However, I covered the registers of the office and kitchen.

In the living-room I noticed items acquire mold that were sitting on top of the file cabinet which was a piece of wood furniture affected and in front of the dry wall with moisture and on top of the carpet. These items were placed in plastic bags tied together and put back on the file cabinet. On the 11th of November, canvas bags which are full of documents and other items were in the living-room in a large plastic tub. Fungal mold-like growth was present and removed to the garage.

Last week, Tuesday we had a visit from an adjuster(claim transferred to a different county and rep after complaints of contractors from Insurance company not following through nor getting started beyond photos, diagrams, and measuring in removing and cleaning etc.) who saw the areas. She was to send someone out that day to remove the carpet, remaining things in the room, clean, remove powder from results of work with wet saw in the room and to have someone come and put a suction unit in the room to remove spores and exhaust them outside of home-(is this appropriate, could they not re-enter with open windows or the like?). How about the other rooms which could highly likely have colonies as a result of location to the contaminated rooms and the pieces from those rooms disbursed in other places.

The adjuster assured us of action being taken that day and would contact her contractors to come out that evening. In addition, she would talk to her manager and review file as it was reported they do not cover mold-but she was told the insurance contractors delay from mid October to well into November is an issue.

Here we are in December and items are still unchanged nor removed. Carpet should have been gone among others. Therefore the insurances contractor is liable and should be responsible for those areas related to microbials. She did say the insurance can help out up to 5k’s. Again, we were assured in the meantime work would get going that evening or in the morning. That late afternoon she phoned and left a message that no one will be out that evening. She had not been able to receive contact from her manager either. However, she needs to ask me a question. I have not heard from her since returning her call.

On Saturday, the 11th of December, I went to the insurance office expressed my frustration of this situation in which the agent was amazed and reported this should not be like this. They never get complaints on home insurance and it should have been taken care of within a few days not a few months and nothing has happened. The agent sent an urgent notice to the adjuster and her manager. Needless to say there has not been any contact yet.

I have been having further health problems as a result of the contamination/fungal environment. This would make the fourth time I have sought medical attention.

I have made every effort to remove myself from the mold contaminated areas while I try to limit my time in the kitchen and family room with an exception on Sunday morning. I try to remain upstairs which is open to downstairs except for the bedrooms. Could the colonies multiply throughout the house with the conditions described and find their way upstairs? I think that they may have not only affected my health, but me physically. I have inflammation, advanced edema, muscle/joint pain, red eyes, and enlargement of my mid-section. Could colonies have developed within my body? I am active and work out four times a week-1.5hrs, but I’ve been noticing physical challenges of things usually included in my work out and some involve respiratory. How can these symptoms/conditions be corrected or can they be permanent? How about the other health conditions?

What precautions, actions, remediation and additional evaluations should be taken as a whole? Thank you.

Answer:

I would like to summarize and answer your questions as follows:

The adjuster was to send someone out to remove the carpet, remaining things in the room, clean, remove powder from results of work with wet saw in the room and to have someone come and put a suction unit in room to remove spores and exhaust them outside of home. Your question is whether this method was appropriate and whether the spores could re-enter through the open windows. To me this sounds like it was an appropriate method of cleaning up the mold. Most remediation companies follow mold guidelines such as “Guidelines on Assessment and Remediation of Fungi in Indoor Environments” developed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In Canada, contractors may use the Canadian Construction Association’s Mould Guidelines for the Canadian Construction Industry or the Environmental Abatement Council of Ontario’s Mould Abatement Guidelines. These guidelines are available online so you want you can refer to them.
Your other question is whether the colonies could multiply throughout the house given the damp/wet conditions you have described. The answer is yes. If the moisture problem is not corrected mold will continue growing.
You have experienced symptoms/conditions that you think are due to mold exposure and you wonder how these symptoms/conditions could be corrected. Generally symptoms associated with mold exposure should disappear once a person is no longer exposed to mold. However, permanent symptoms may develop if the individual was exposed for many years.
You also wanted to know what precautions, actions, remediation and additional evaluations that should be taken as a whole. Since you’re not feeling well, I think the first thing for you is to move out of the house. Then hire a qualified professional to assess the extent of mold contamination and recommend the appropriate level of remediation.

I hope this helps. If you need more information, please contact us again.

Dr. Jackson Kung’u.

The Fungi Kingdom: Ascomycotina

Jackson Kung'u

These were my mycology notes during my masters. Credit goes to Dr. Paul Cannon Of CABI Bioscience who taught me and provided notes on Ascomycotina.

Ascomycotina

Introduction

The Ascomycotina is the largest subdivision of the fungi, and if one includes their anamorphs it contains perhaps three quarters of all known true fungi (Hawksworth et al., 1983). As the number of all fungi has been variously estimated at anywhere between 100000 and 1600000 (Hawksworth, 1991a), it is clear that despite its image even in most informed non-specialists’ eyes as hardly meriting attention, the group is of the first importance.

As might be expected in such a monumental group, there is enormous diversity of structure and ecology. At one end of the scale are most of the unicellular organisms commonly known as the yeasts, and at the other, species with extensive mycelium and large and elaborate fruiting structures, such as the truffles and morels. The group is of enormous importance to plant pathology, and representatives may be found in almost every imaginable ecological niche. When one considers that most of the Fungi Imperfect! (hyphomycetes and coelomycetes) are either biologically linked to ascomycetes or are clearly related to them, the importance of the group becomes even more clear.

In the Ascomycotina, meiotic spores (ascospores) develop inside special cells, the asci. These either rupture or break down to release the ascospores in order that they may be dispersed. The structure of the asci are particularly important in classification. A peculiar feature of the meiotic process in ascomycetes results in the fact that in most species the number of ascospores produced within asci is strictly controlled, and in the vast majority of cases this number is eight. The asci are commonly accompanied by sterile hyphae, broadly termed paraphyses. Most members of the Ascomycotina have asci which are protected by a globose, flask-shaped or discoid conglomeration of cells, the ascoma. Where the asci are surrounded by wall material, ascospores may be released through a small opening in the ascoma wall, the ostiole, or by its general breakdown. A discoid fruit body is termed an apothecium, a flask-shaped one a perithecium and a globose, closed one a cleistothecium. These terms are losing prominence as intermediates are identified and classifications rely upon them less as basic divisions. The protective covering may be rudimentary, composed only of a web of hyphae, or may be very well-developed, with multiple and varied layers of thin-or thick-walled cells. These are often dark brown or black due to the deposition of melanin, which is probably formed primarily to protect the fungus against ultra violet radiation. The ascomata (plural of “ascoma”) may be formed into compound fruit bodies, stromata.

In many cases, ascomycetes are readily identified as such by using simple squash mounts of cultured material. In some groups of the Ascomycotina, it is not always easy to perform this basic level of identification as the asci deliquesce (the walls break down irregularly or apparently simply disappear) to release the ascospores. Particularly when examining old cultures of such fungi as Chaetomium and Microascus, asci may be hard to detect. In these cases, though, ascospores are commonly seen in clusters of eight even though the wall surrounding them is no longer present.

Bacterial and Fungal Contamination of Metalworking Fluids (MWFs)

Jackson Kung'u

Metalworking fluids are used to cool and/or lubricate metal works during machining, grinding, cutting, milling, etc. MWFs can get contaminated when good hygiene practices are not followed or when fluids are not properly managed or maintained. Bacterial and fungal contamination of metalworking fluids (MWFs) is a major concern in the industries which use these fluids. Contamination may cause equipment malfunction, off-odors, degradation in the fluid quality, economic losses and finally, they pose as a major health hazard. Several Gram +ve and Gram -ve bacteria are found as contaminants. These include Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Proteus sp. and Coliforms. Fungal contaminants include, Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp. and Cephalosporium sp.

Major health concerns of bacterial and fungal Contaminated metalworking fluids include skin irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, and, occasionally, breathing difficulties such as bronchitis and asthma. Learn more about contamination of metalworking fluids.

Salmonella food poisoning and symptoms

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Legionella pneumophila – Guidelines for Laboratory Interpretation

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