Last October, a 27-year-old British girl died suddenly of a acute respiratory distress syndrome, probably due to the mold that invaded the walls of his unsanitary accommodation.
His mother, who has just testified in The Sun tabloidsays her son first suffered from a cough and sore throat and that his condition deteriorated in just 6 days after the first symptoms. Traces of Aspergillus, a microscopic fungus commonly found in the environment, were found in his lungs. An investigation is underway but these molds could be the cause of the young man’s sudden death, caused by a Invasive aspergillosis.
Aspergillosis: smokers and asthmatics are at risk
Aspergillus is a microscopic fungus found in decomposing plants, on public works sites but also on the walls of unsanitary houses. A fungus that can attack fragile lungs. In France, it is the third cause of invasive fungal infection, as the Pasteur Institute points out.
“This infection affects immunocompromised subjects, in particular patients who have undergone a marrow transplant, patients undergoing anti-cancer treatment or immunosuppressive treatment following an organ transplant.
“As soon as you have blackish stains on the walls, there’s aspergillus in there” emphasizes Doctor Cendrine Godet, pulmonologist at the University Hospital of Poitiers, who explains that chronic pulmonary aspergillosis would represent a danger for all people whose lungs are already weakened, either because they smoke or because they suffer from asthma. or have suffered from lung cancer. “It can also be patients who have a small scar on the lung, left by an old infection, such as pneumonia for example”.
Aspergillosis: what are the symptoms?
The disease often goes unnoticed at first. Then appear a chronic cough, fatigue, weight loss.
Other symptoms may then appear, such as chest pain, breathing difficulties, as well as hemoptysis (coughing up blood).
The diagnosis is often late because the first symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) are not specific to the disease. For now, the only way to fight the respiratory infection un antifungal treatment with voriconazole or isavuconazole. In some countries, we are seeing the emergence of resistance to these treatments but, for the moment, France seems to be little affected by this phenomenon of resistance.
