Unexplained headaches, allergies and other strange health problems inside some homes may be related to molds and their spores, scientists say in an article published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology..

“We have been able to show that mycotoxins can be released from moldy walls and other objects directly into the air, especially indoors.. Accordingly, they can be inhaled by residents of such buildings, and their impact on human health should be studied, especially in homes where mold is present in large quantities,” says Jean-Denis Bailly from the University of Toulouse (France).

In recent years, doctors have noticed that many people complain of unexplained headaches, allergy attacks, shortness of breath and other health problems if they are inside a particular apartment, house or room..

Balli and his colleagues accidentally discovered the possible cause of all these health problems by experimenting with three types of fungi - Penicillium brevicompactum, Aspergillus versicolor and Stachybotrys chartarum, which periodically begin to grow on wallpaper, wet walls and in dark corners of apartments..

Scientists were interested in how these fungi reproduce and what makes them move from their natural habitats and "

To answer this question, the Balli team built a “simulator apartment” - a fragment of a wall with wallpaper pasted on it, on top of which scientists planted spores and periodically blew them with air currents, simulating the operation of ventilation and air conditioning.. The air that passed through the mold colonies was continuously analyzed for the presence of spores and waste products of fungi..

These experiments led to an unexpected result.. It turned out that in addition to mold spores, a large amount of so-called microtoxins, toxic substances, many of which can cause severe poisoning or allergic reactions when they enter the lungs and skin, constantly got into the air.. The ingestion of mycotoxins into the feed of animals infected with mold sharply impairs their productivity, weakens their immunity and can lead to death when they are eaten even in relatively small doses..

Something similar, according to scientists, can also occur in apartments whose walls and wallpapers are covered with mold..

aspect. net.