Katrina continues assault on Louisiana six months later         

Mold experts find evidence of biotoxin illness

[FEB. 28, 2006]  ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. -- More than half of 189 patients in five different groups -- firemen, parish employees, health workers, homeless adults and homeless children -- have been found to have highly elevated neurological and physical symptoms related to mold illness. In contrast, 22 crew members of the M/S Scotia Prince, docked in the parish, were normal in identical tests. Experts recommend expanded medical evaluation and treatment and protective measures for residents and workers.

A "mold clinic" conducted Feb. 9-12 in St. Bernard Parish found that more than half the patients examined exhibited symptoms of biotoxin illness. Simultaneously, houses in the parish were found to have extremely high levels of toxin-producing molds, including Stachybotrys, also known as black mold.

"Our parish was devastated by Katrina, with all but two buildings sustaining flood damage," said Henry Rodriguez, parish president. "We're working hard to rebuild our community, but we must have safe, temporary housing where our residents can escape constant exposure to widespread mold growth."

The mold clinic was run by Dr. Ritchie C. Shoemaker, a nationally known physician who has treated more than 5,000 biotoxin illness patients in over 30 years of medical practice and is the author of several books and scientific articles, including "Mold Warriors," published in 2005.

"There is no question about the potential for illness caused by biotoxins in this population; the data are overwhelming," stated Shoemaker in his report to the Saint Bernard Parish president, parish fire chief, parish homeland security manager and the general manager of the Scotia Prince.

"Our findings support the hypothesis that there are many persons with exposure to toxigenic organisms including mold in St. Bernard Parish. These people should undergo complete medical evaluation and treatment," he added.

In a related environmental and landscape assessment, Dr. Richard L. Lipsey, a forensic toxicologist, took samples and pictures of the housing and neighborhoods of the parish. He reported: "Most of the homes had extremely high levels (of mold), the highest I have ever seen in my 35 years of testing homes for toxic mold. The most common pathogenic mold appeared to be Stachybotrys, sometimes called the 'black mold,' known to be 10 times more toxic than the most pathogenic but more common molds, Penicillium and Aspergillus. Stachybotrys produces tricothocenes, which, in highly purified forms have been developed by the U.S. Army and never used, having since been destroyed."

Lipsey continued, "Many of the homes must be bulldozed and burned since they cannot be salvaged, and none of the parish residents living on the Scotia Prince (who have remained less affected by the toxins) should return to their neighborhoods without proper protective equipment."

Results of the mold clinic and sampling from the homes in St. Bernard Parish are available via links at the end of this article. The control group for the study consisted of crew aboard the M/S Scotia Prince, which has been docked in the parish since mid-September under contract to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

None of the crew showed signs of biotoxin illness. In his report, Shoemaker noted: "The only 'residential' location in St. Bernard Parish that did not have its 'residents' (the crew) identified with biotoxin-associated illness is the M/S Scotia Prince. Trailers installed next to contaminated buildings, used by persons with unprotected indoor exposure to those contaminated structures, cannot be considered to be a shelter strategy that provides protection from toxigenic elements, including fungi, resident in the contaminated structures."

The parish continues to struggle with accommodating residents in the face of a severe shortage of trailers and the imminent departure of the M/S Scotia Prince at the conclusion of FEMA's six-month charter of the vessel.

To view a summary of the findings, see http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/
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For a full report, visit http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/
newsroom.php?cid=308937.

[Eworldwire news release]