Almost the only thing that the medical profession will concede about mold is that weakened immune systems are more susceptible to infection. The buck almost stops there–because medical science in general is reluctant to discuss mold in terms with health. However, when the person in question is a child–especially a child with cancer–even mold is considered fair game.
How is this relevant to an anti-mold crusader like me? Well, in Tampa’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, mold was released during renovation of the ground floor of the children’s oncology center. And that free-roaming mold circumvented construction and ventilation system barriers to contaminate the environment of three children. Yes, their immune systems were already compromised with cancer and chemotherapy. And these three children spent a lot of time in rooms right above the demolition area: in rooms unguarded from contaminated dust and airborne particles generated by the demolition and removal of plaster walls and ceiling tiles one floor down.
Legally, the question remains–did the hospltal follow established protocol during construction? How do we ever know if proper screening of those areas would have prevented the fungal/mold infections?