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Basic Fungual Biology For Concerned Homeowners And Mold Inspectors

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Basic fungual biology for concerned homeowners and mold inspectors.


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648 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2007-05-04 11:24:00

Written By: Daryl Watters
Copyright: 2007
Contact Email: mailto:daryl.watters@...



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Basic Fungual Biology For Concerned Homeowners And Mold Inspectors
Copyright (c) 2007 Daryl Watters
A Accredited Mold Inspection Service, Inc.
http://www.floridamoldinspectors.us



Fungi are eukaryotic organisms, which means unlike bacteria they
all have true cells with at least one nucleus in the cell and
that nucleus is inside a nuclear membrane. The other cell
organelles also are in membranes. Fungi are not photosynthetic
like plants; thus, they cannot make their own food using sunlight
and carbon dioxide like plants.

But like bacteria and plants, the fungi have rigid cell walls,
and like bacteria and some primitive plants(Mosses, liverworts,
and ferns), molds produce spores for reproduction.

Fungi can be microscopic, one-celled organisms, such as yeasts,
or large macroscopic organisms, such as giant mushrooms.

According to the fifth kingdom (a popular mycology textbook) here
are one hundred thousand known fungi species, there may be as
many as 1 to 1.7 million species of fungi if we include estimated
numbers of fungi not yet discovered. During a mold inspection
service investigation, only a dozen or so different types are
typically encountered.

Fungi are saprophytes. In other words, they release enzymes onto
the substrate which they are growing in order to dissolve and eat
that substrate. They share this characteristic with bacteria. In
nature, two of mold's favorite foods are moist dead wood and
soil rich with decaying organic matter. During a mold inspection,
we find that most mold will grow on drywall paper found on both
surfaces of wet drywall. The reason for this is that drywall
paper is made of one of molds favorite foods, wood.

Some fungi are infectious, growing inside or on other living
things. Some of the fungi cause ring worm, athlete's foot,
Candida yeast infections, valley fever, and most common sinus
infections.

A few infectious fungi have the ability to grow as a fuzzy white
decay fungus or (saprophyte) at room temperature. The same molds
will grow as a disease causing yeast-like pathogen when incubated
at body temperature. These fungi are called dimorphic which means
two body types and they can result in serious and sometimes fatal
illness when growing in the human body in it's infectious yeast
form. These fungi are not typically found or identified during a
mold inspection service investigation. Most are found in pigeon
or starling bird droppings, or in bat droppings, other types live
in dry soils of the South Western U.S. and South America.

It appears that in order to keep from being eaten, various types
of fungi produce toxic chemicals known as mycotoxins. We know of
at least 200 types of mycotoxins. Toxic molds containing
mycotoxins are very dangerous or even deadly to humans and
livestock when eaten in moldy foods.

When you feel sick because of mold in your home, it is not likely
to be from mycotoxins. It is usually an allergic reaction or
asthmatic reaction. Molds cause many minor and many serious
allergy and asthma problems. Please see your doctor for
verification. Why do molds cause allergies? Molds produce
proteins that many people and even pets' immune systems see as
an invading pathogen, the immune system over reacts to these
harmless mold proteins attempts to get rid of them or destroy
them, and as a result your own bodies immune system makes you
feel sick. It is a fact that many persons die each year in
America from asthma attacks.

Mycotoxins (being large, low-volatile chemicals) do not readily
evaporate into the air, and antigens (being proteins) obviously
are not likely to evaporate either; thus, one has to breathe in
mold spores or other mold parts to have an allergic reaction to
fungi. One typically has to eat fungi-contaminated food to be
poisoned by mycotoxins. Breathing in very large amounts of spores
in industrial settings or during mold removal may result in
organic toxic dust syndrome with flu-like symptoms.

Long term exposure to fungi, bacteria, or thermophylic
actinomycets (a cross between fungus and bacteria), may result in
hypersensitivity pneumonia, a type of industrial-strength
allergic condition with possible pneumonia-like symptoms.




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Daryl Watters is president of A Accredited Mold Inspection Service,
Inc. He provides home, mold, and indoor air quality investigations
South Florida. He is also the creator of MIR forms designed to aid
inspectors in the production of computer generated indoor air
quality and mold inspection reports.

For more inspection information visit
http://www.floridamoldinspectors.us



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