The Mould Show

Have you ever wondered how the air we breathe can cause respiratory irritation?  What is in that haze or smog that sometimes blankets urban cities?  Sure, it probably contains chemicals and maybe even smoke - but there's a lot more to it than just a chemical soup.  In today's Livestream we're going to deep dive into particulate matter, or PM and review what's known about the fungal contribution. Then we're going to look at the inflammatory potential of mould fragments in the PM2.5 and PM10 and ultra small size ranges (yes, even down to the nanoscale).  Then we'll look at how cytokines are involved.  From this perspective, we'll then look into the connection between particulate matter and the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 infection levels.  There's some excellent emerging research saying that the worse the PM, the higher the number of cases of COVID-19.  Watch the livestream to see if it's just the presence of PM that causes for example an immune reaction, perhaps pre-disposing people to SARS-CoV-2 or if the particles themselves are transmitting the virus.

REFERENCES:

SARS-Cov-2 RNA Found on Particulate Matter of Bergamo in Northern Italy: First Preliminary Evidence
Leonardo Setti, Fabrizio Passarini, Gianluigi De Gennaro, Pierluigi Baribieri, Maria Grazia Perrone, Massimo Borelli, Jolanda Palmisani, Alessia Di Gilio, Valentina Torboli, Alberto Pallavicini, Maurizio Ruscio, PRISCO PISCITELLI, Alessandro Miani
medRxiv 2020.04.15.20065995; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.15.20065995

The Potential role of Particulate Matter in the Spreading of COVID-19 in Northern Italy: First Evidence-based Research Hypotheses
Leonardo Setti, Fabrizio Passarini, Gianluigi De Gennaro, Pierluigi Barbieri, Maria Grazia Perrone, Andrea Piazzalunga, Massimo Borelli, Jolanda Palmisani, Alessia Di Gilio, PRISCO PISCITELLI, Alessandro Miani
medRxiv 2020.04.11.20061713; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.11.20061713

Initial evidence of higher morbidity and mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 in regions with lower air quality
Riccardo Pansini, Davide Fornacca
medRxiv 2020.04.04.20053595; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053595
Posted April 16, 2020.

An effect assessment of Airborne particulate matter pollution on COVID-19: A multi-city Study in China
Bo Wang, Jiangtao Liu, Shihua Fu, Xiaocheng Xu, Lanyu Li, Yueling Ma, Ji Zhou, Jinxi Yao, Xingrong Liu, Xiuxia Zhang, Xiaotao He, Jun Yan, Yanjun Shi, Xiaowei Ren, Jingping Niu, Bin Luo, Kai zhang
medRxiv 2020.04.09.20060137; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.09.20060137

Holme JA, Øya E, Afanou AKJ, Øvrevik J, Eduard W. Characterization and pro-inflammatory potential of indoor mold particles [published online ahead of print, 2020 Feb 20]. Indoor Air. 2020;10.1111/ina.12656. doi:10.1111/ina.12656, https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12656

Yan D, Zhang T, Su J et al. Diversity and Composition of Airborne Fungal Community Associated with Particulate Matters in Beijing during Haze and Non-haze Days. Front Microbiol. 2016;7. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.00487

Li, C.Y., Ding, M.S., Yang, Y., Zhang, P.C., Li, Y., Wang,Y.C., Huang, L.C., Yang, P.J., Wang, M., Sha, X., Xu, Y.M., Guo, C.W. and Shan,Z.W. (2016) Portrait and Classification of Individual Haze Particulates. Journal of Environmental Protection, 7, 1355-1379. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jep.2016.710118

Schaible, H. Nociceptive neurons detect cytokines in arthr

The WHO in their seminal work from 2009 talk about 500 CFU - or colony forming units per cubic mere of air but what does that mean? Reading that document suggests that levels less than 500 mean the building is not water damaged - especially if you live in Finland! But what about indoor mould levels in the rest of the world? Today's livestream delves into this topic of 'colony forming units' - which are the numbers of discrete fungal colonies that appear (or grow) in petri plates when exposed to the air. The numbers on the plate can be translated into units per cubic metre of air. When this is done, we have THRESHOLDS. Think of these as numerical traffic lights. At green, it's OK indoors, and your mould levels can be considered normal...but what happens if the petri plate traffic lights show AMBER or RED? Some great French research uses 3 ways of measuring risk indoors using the CFU and links this with the experience of asthma and rhinitis. Towards the end of this livestream I alos compare the French thresholds with the Australian Mould Guideline (2010) by Dr Heike Neumeister and we see a strong correlation between the French and the Australians. This is great news for anyone trying the make a link between indoor mould exposure and adverse or the potential for adverse human health. As part of the breaking news segment, I cover some new research showing that some occupations make it more probable that you may come into contact with SARS-CoV-2 and contract COVID-19. Watch until the end to find out the 5 classes of 'at risk occupations'.

REFERENCES:

Reboux G, Rocchi S, Laboissière A et al. Survey of 1012 moldy dwellings by culture fungal analysis: Threshold proposal for asthmatic patient management. Indoor Air. 2018;29(1):5-16. doi:10.1111/ina.12516. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12516

L L. Mold Exposure and Mitochondrial Antibodies. Altern Ther Health Med. 2020 Feb 21. pii: AT5799. [Epub ahead of print] - PubMed - NCBI. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32088666. Published 2020. Accessed April 15, 2020.

Jones, C.L. (2019). Guidelines For The Assessment of Viable Fungal Hygiene On Indoor Surfaces Using RODAC Petri Plates. J Bacteriol Mycol Open Access. 2019;7(5):116‒126. https://medcraveonline.com/JBMOA/JBMOA-07-00256.pdf

Work-related Covid-19 transmission
Fan-Yun Lan, Chih-Fu Wei, Yu-Tien Hsu, David C Christiani, Stefanos N Kales
medRxiv 2020.04.08.20058297; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.08.20058297

Could pet cats be a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2?  This video reviews the 2 main published studies showing that this is in fact happening.  The data shows that pet cats in Wuhan, China can be infected by pet owners who themselves have contracted COVID-19. This raises new questions about quarantine and how pets will be managed. 

REFERENCES:

SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing serum antibodies in cats: a serological investigation
Qiang Zhang, Huajun Zhang, Kun Huang, Yong Yang, Xianfeng Hui, Jindong Gao, Xinglin He, Chengfei Li, Wenxiao Gong, Yufei Zhang, Cheng Peng, Xiaoxiao Gao, Huanchun Chen, Zhong Zou, Zhengli Shi, Meilin Jin
bioRxiv 2020.04.01.021196; doi: https://lnkd.in/gBXbZTC

Chen H. Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and different domestic animals to SARS-coronavirus-2. 2020. doi:https://lnkd.in/g7vsrfh

Bedford E. Dog and cat pet population worldwide 2018 | Statista. Statista. https://lnkd.in/gthh9HS. Published 2020. Accessed April 5, 2020.

This week we're taking a mould holiday and instead focussing on a very serious contemporary health crisis.  Today, I want to review what we know about SARS-CoV-2 and virus transmission in pets.  There has been some disturbing new stories about this virus in 2 dogs and then 2 cats.  Investigations in Hong Kong revealed that the virus could be detected in at least one dog. The CDC cautions that there is no immediate risk to people from their pets. Obviously, no one wants people to start fearing their pets, but these early reports certainly suggests that there is some form of transmission even if this is juts settled RNA virus onto the pets fur.  However a bombshell of a paper came out overnight showing that SARS-CoV-2 is spread via droplets in ferrets and cats.  This is alarming and suggests that perhaps more widespread epidemiological testing needs to be undertaken in at least cats.  The last part of this livestream focuses on masks and if they offer scientifically valid reasons for wearing them.   Review a paper that shows that mask wearing on public transport prevents transmission to others.  The final paper looks at 3 types of masks and notes that mask wearing in combination with use of hand sanitiser can help minimise transmission. 

REFERENCES: 

Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and different domestic animals to SARS-coronavirus-2. 2020. 

Evaluating COVID-19 Public Health Messaging in Italy: Self-Reported Compliance and Growing Mental Health Concerns. medRxiv. 2020;(March 30). 

Pet dog tests positive for COVID-19 virus, Thursday, March 19, 2020. Afcd.gov.hk. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Risque zoonotique du SARS-CoV2 (Covid-19) associé aux animaux de compagnie : infection de l’animal vers l’homme et de l’homme vers l’animal (Mandat du Comité scientifique fédéral en charge de la gestion de la pandémie de SARS-CoV2 en Belgique). Afsca.be. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Detection of low level of COVID-19 virus in pet dog. Info.gov.hk. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Hong Kong dog causes panic – but here's why you needn't worry about pets spreading COVID-19. The Conversation. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - If You Have Animals. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Should pets be tested for coronavirus?. Science. 2020;Mar. 31(2020). doi:10.1126/science.abc0029. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/should-pets-be-tested-coronavirus

Pet cat tests positive for coronavirus in Hong Kong. The Straits Times. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Cat infected with COVID-19 from owner in Belgium. livescience.com. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Follow-up reports: Immediate Notification, then Reports No.1,2 and 3. Oie.int. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Questions and Answers on the COVID-19: OIE - World Organisation for Animal Health. Oie.int. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2020.

BREAKING NEWS:

Turbulent Gas Clouds and Respiratory Pathogen Emissions: Potential Implications for Reducing Transmission of COVID-19. JAMA. Published online March 26, 2020. 

COVID-19 : Face Masks and Human-to-human Transmission. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2020;(29 March 2020). 

Potential utilities of mask wearing and instant hand hygiene for fighting SARS-CoV-2. J Med Virol. 2020;(31 March 2020). 

How Long Can COVID-19 Survive On Surfaces?

If I touch that surface or object could I get sick from COVID-19?  That's the aim of this podcast to review what we know about airborne and surface transmission.  COVID-19 is a virus, so it's technically not alive...but if the viral RNA ends up on a doorknob or on an extractor fan, then you could unknowingly come into contact with it.  This is called fomite transmission. Today's episode reviews what we know about the survival of the virus on inanimate objects.  We find that it survives less well on copper surfaces and longer on plastic than on cardboard.  It can also be cleaned from the hospital rooms of patients diagnosed with the virus.  But, if the room is not cleaned, then virus can remain on many typical touch surfaces.  There is even a link with fecal shedding and the toilet. Next, I review the data from The Diamond Princess where it was found that the virus could be recovered from. Cabins after 17 days.  That's a long time to remain infectious.  What can you do?  Well, there's a US EPA site that lists all the disinfectants that should work for COVID-19 and I review some of the typical ones and their efficacy.  

The Breaking News section of this podcast discusses how nanofibrils of cellulose have been used to change the way building composite boards are produced.  This is a great example of materials science and the search for replacements for formaldehyde.  Who knows, these new 'green' manufacturing methods may also confer other benefits like antibacterial/anti-fungal properties due to the inclusion of boric acid. The last paper, I want to highlight comes out of Hong Kong and looks at seasonal influenza and how RNA could be recovered from the tops of bookshelves and doorhandles.  The levels were low, but the authors postulate that this famine transmission might exacerbate childhood influenza illness and propagation.  

REFERENCES:

Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents.  doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2020.01.022

Survival of influenza virus on banknotes. doi:10.1128/AEM.00076-08. https://aem.asm.org/content/74/10/3002

Paper money and coins as potential vectors of transmissible disease. https://doi.org/10.2217/fmb.13.161

Air, Surface Environmental, and Personal Protective Equipment Contamination by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) From a Symptomatic Patient. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.3227

Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 as Compared with SARS-CoV-1. 10.1056/doi:10.1056/NEJMc2004973

Should we leave the paper currency? A microbiological examination. doi:10.37201/req/085.2019

Bacterial contamination of Pakistani currency notes from hospital and community sources. doi:10.12669/pjms.345.15477

Comparative antibacterial effects of cellulose nanofiber, chitosan nanofiber, chitosan/cellulose combination and chitosan alone against bacterial contamination of Iranian banknotes. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.06.160

List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2. 

Presence of influenza virus on touch-surfaces in kindergartens and primary schools doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaa114

Cellulose nanocrystals vs. cellulose nanofibrils: a comparative study on their microstructures and effects as polymer reinforcing agents. 

Aussie newsagent bans cash over coronavirus fears | A Current Affair. https://youtu.be/qSjKM2qOYNk

Public Health Responses to COVID-19 Outbreaks on Cruise Ships — Worldwide, February–March 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e3external icon.

NEWS:

Laminated Wallboard Panels Made with Cellulose Nanofibrils as a Binder: doi:10.3390/ma13061303

On this week's livestream I'm going to cover the topic of microbial contamination in carpet.  In Australia, with over 17% of insurance claims being water-related, the probability of your carpet becoming water-damaged and mould-affected at some stage is high.  Now, consider the context that asthma costs the community billions of dollars every year and that approx. 35% of asthma cases are caused by mould and dampness (tune in for these references!). You should be aware that there are 3 main types of carpets: nylon, wool and polypropylene. Which one is better or worse for your respiratory health?  What does dust do to the ability of your carpet to induce asthma?  What does the amount of humidity do?  These are some of the key questions we're going to answer in today's livestream. Once you know which carpet, which humidity and what other factors impact on your carpet cleanliness, I'm then going to discuss which cleaning methods are best for removing these microbial contaminants.

As part of the weekly 'Breaking News' segment, there a fascinating new paper that's come out that explains how mould damages the lung.  This paper provides fundamental evidence in support of the reasons that even low levels of mould can cause harm top people. We're also going to review 2 papers that have come out about the COVID-19 pandemic.  The first is a review of what we know of the medical journey for some of the first virus infected patients in China.  This information showed that severe pulmonary disease is the #1 reason for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).  Viral infections (and before COVID-19) became the central worry on all our minds, the risk from severe influenza pneumonia resulting in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) may in fact be made worse by Aspergillus infections. The relationship of co-infections with other pathogens like bacteria and fungi cannot be underestimated with COVID-19.

YouTube Link which has all the reference links:

https://youtu.be/_Rs82rPeARo

Now that the WHO has informed us all that the virus is now a Pandemic.  This week’s show will suspend our discussion on mould issues to bring you some important information on the COVID-19 virus.  This week we’ll be covering microbiological literacy, fractal scaling behaviour in death rate and how this is linked to what we know about the trail off of infection rate, the role of humidity and general virus transmission and infectivity as well as debunking some myths surrounding some claims that the COVID-19 is a laboratory made virus.  I also interview Richard Anthony from Eze Training who’s is launching a new course on infection control especially updated to cover COVID-19 that is aimed at the general public, hospitality staff as well as his core train demographic from the tattoo and allied body and beauty arts field. 

REFERENCES:

Timmis, K., Cavicchioli, R., Garcia, J., Nogales, B., Chavarría, M., Stein, L., McGenity, T., Webster, N., Singh, B., Handelsman, J., Lorenzo, V., Pruzzo, C., Timmis, J., Martín, J., Verstraete, W., Jetten, M., Danchin, A., Huang, W., Gilbert, J., Lal, R., Santos, H., Lee, S., Sessitsch, A., Bonfante, P., Gram, L., Lin, R., Ron, E., Karahan, Z., Meer, J., Artunkal, S., Jahn, D. and Harper, L., 2019. The urgent need for microbiology literacy in society. Environmental Microbiology, 21(5), pp.1513-1528. 10.1111/1462-2920.14611

Liu, S., Saif, L., Weiss, S., & Su, L. (2020). No credible evidence supporting claims of the laboratory engineering of SARS-CoV-2. Emerging Microbes & Infections, 9(1), 505-507. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1733440

Luo, W., Majumder, M., Liu, D., Poirier, C., Mandl, K., Lipsitch, M., & Santillana, M. (2020). The role of absolute humidity on transmission rates of the COVID-19 outbreak. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.12.20022467

Batista, M. (2020). Estimation of the final size of the coronavirus epidemic by the logistic model. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.16.20023606

Ziff, A., & Ziff, R. (2020). Fractal kinetics of COVID-19 pandemic. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.16.20023820

Wang, M., Jiang, A., Gong, L., Luo, L., Guo, W., & Li, C. et al. (2020). Temperature significant change COVID-19 Transmission in 429 cities. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.22.20025791

Cai, Y., Huang, T., Liu, X., & Xu, G. (2020). The Effects of "Fangcang, Huoshenshan, and Leishenshan" Makeshift Hospitals and Temperature on the Mortality of COVID-19. doi: 10.1101/2020.02.26.20028472

Oliveiros, B., Caramelo, L., Ferreira, N., & Caramelo, F. (2020). Role of temperature and humidity in the modulation of the doubling time of COVID-19 cases. doi: 10.1101/2020.03.05.20031872

Interview with Richard Anthony from: https://ezetrainingcourses.com/

This term "mitochondrial dysfunction" is increasingly being talked about in regard to detoxification.  What is it?  What does it mean?  Where are the mitochondria and how are they linked to mould exposure? This week's episode is going to cover this fascinating topic.  

REFERENCES:

Wang, L., Li, W., Cheng, D. et al. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of three oral formulations of curcumin in rats. J Pharmacokinet Pharmacodyn (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10928-020-09675-3

Stress and Psychiatric Disorders: The Role of Mitochondria
Teresa E. Daniels, Elizabeth M. Olsen, Audrey R. Tyrka
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 2020 16:1. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-082719-104030 (to appear: May 2020)

Jaakkola, M.S., Lajunen, T.K. & Jaakkola, J.J.K. Indoor mold odor in the workplace increases the risk of Asthma-COPD Overlap Syndrome: a population-based incident case–control study. Clin Transl Allergy 10, 3 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13601-019-0307-2

Ochratoxin A exposure causes meiotic failure and oocyte deterioration in mice. Theriogenology. 2019 Nov 10. pii: S0093-691X(19)30505-9. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.11.005.

Mitochondrial Dynamic Dysfunction as a Main Triggering Factor for Inflammation Associated Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases. J Inflamm Res. 2020 Feb 14;13:97-107. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S232009.

Mold Exposure and Mitochondrial Antibodies. Altern Ther Health Med. 2020 Feb 21. pii: AT5799.

Imagine you and your family have planned a trip of a lifetime.  You finally get to your destination and discover that your supposedly luxurious hotel room is dirty and has mould.  What do you do?  Do you immediately write a bad review - potentially defaming the hotel and opening yourself up to being sued, or do you try and resolve the issues through the correct channels? In this week’s show, we look at what Google has to say about this problem.  To properly address this, we’ve consulted with a lawyerr to find out what they recommend and how they would deal with this.