Ten questions concerning the implications of carpet on indoor chemistry and microbiology.

Carpet and rugs currently represent about half of the United States flooring market and offer many benefits as a flooring type. How carpets influence our exposure to both microorganisms and chemicals in indoor environments has important health implications but is not well understood. The goal of this manuscript is to consolidate what is known about how carpet impacts indoor chemistry and microbiology, as well as to identify the important research gaps that remain.

Landscape Plant Selection Criteria for the Allergic Patient.

Patients with pollen-related allergies are concerned about the species within their landscape that provoke their symptoms. Allergists are often asked for guidance but few information sources are available to aid patients in the recognition of allergenic plants and strategies to avoid personal exposure to them. Landscaping and horticultural workers also have few reliable guidance references, and what is available usually extols the virtues of the plants rather than their negative features.

Home Assessment and Remediation.

Awareness of the relationship of fungi to asthma in indoor air is very old and well documented. There is substantial evidence that mold and dampness exacerbate asthma in sensitized individuals. Many governmental and nongovernmental organizations around the world have issued guidelines to the effect that the elimination of moisture intrusion and the removal of moldy items from living space can improve respiratory health.

A work group report on ultrafine particles (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology): Why ambient ultrafine and engineered nanoparticles should receive special attention for possible adverse health outcomes in human subjects.

Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are airborne particulates of less than 100 nm in aerodynamic diameter. Examples of UFPs are diesel exhaust particles, products of cooking, heating, and wood burning in indoor environments, and, more recently, products generated through the use of nanotechnology. Studies have shown that ambient UFPs have detrimental effects on both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, including a higher incidence of atherosclerosis and exacerbation rate of asthma.

Procedures to Assist Health Care Providers to Determine When Home Assessments for Potential Mold Exposure Are Warranted.

Drawing evidence from epidemiology and exposure assessment studies and recommendations from expert practice, we describe a process to guide health care providers helping their patients who present with symptoms that might be associated with living in damp housing. We present the procedures in the form of a guided 2-part interview. The first part has 5 questions that triage the patient toward a more detailed questionnaire that reflects features of housing conditions known to be reliably associated with exposures to mold and dampness contaminants.

Taxonomy of Allergenic Fungi.

The Kingdom Fungi contains diverse eukaryotic organisms including yeasts, molds, mushrooms, bracket fungi, plant rusts, smuts, and puffballs. Fungi have a complex metabolism that differs from animals and plants. They secrete enzymes into their surroundings and absorb the breakdown products of enzyme action.

Prevalence of IgE reactivities in mold-allergic subjects to commercially available fungal enzymes.

Fungi are important aeroallergens. However, fungal allergen sources of consistent quality for clinical testing are not readily available. Because some allergens have been identified as enzymes, we assessed the prevalence of IgE reactivity to commercially available fungal enzymes.

Guide for interpreting reports from inspections/investigations of indoor mold.

Inspections and testing of indoor environments for mold growth increased dramatically in the past decade. Allergists can now be presented copies of reports and laboratory data and asked to provide an interpretation, although allergists are seldom trained to review environmental data. There is no single sampling method that is both specific for mold growth and robust enough to reliably detect mold growth.

Managing building-related Aspergillus exposure.

Aspergillus exposure is difficult to avoid. Indoor dust contains spores and thermotolerant molds may colonize damp or water-damaged building materials or components. Dust control should be part of diligent maintenance since disturbing dusts, especially during building renovation, can expose occupants to spores.

Air- and dustborne mycoflora in houses free of water damage and fungal growth.

Typically, studies on indoor fungal growth in buildings focus on structures with known or suspected water damage, moisture, and/or indoor fungal growth problems. Reference information on types of culturable fungi and total fungal levels are generally not available for buildings without these problems. This study assessed 50 detached single-family homes in metropolitan Atlanta, Ga.

Assessment of the indoor environment: evaluation of mold growth indoors.

Much attention has been focused on indoor molds; resulting in modest amounts of new research. There is strong evidence of respiratory effects. Although mechanisms are disputed, some of the effect (but not all) is likely to be allergy related.