Neil Carlson, an industrial hygienist at the University of Minnesota, goes further. While Carlson emphasizes that the research to date has shown only an association not a causal link between the molds and serious illness, he warns that all the recent attention on Stachy may cause people to ignore dangers posed by other molds that produce trichothecene mycotoxins. The main message is, if you see visible mold, you need to treat it with respect, said Carlson. That is because no mold is good mold. All are at least allergenic, meaning they can aggravate or ignite an allergy attack in the 50 million or so Americans who suffer from allergies.
Many molds can even cause an allergy in a previously unaffected person.
The culprit for these ailments may take a while to track down. Because mold s harmful effects are still becoming known, most people do not immediately suspect fungus when confronted by a new health problem. A snootful of Stachy mold flattened Wane Baker with G.I. problems for three days not too long ago. I sure didn t get much mold, said Baker. But the consequences were very real.