Fungal Disease Awareness Week and Protecting Workers and the Public from Preventable Exposure Risks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated September 21^st through the 25^th as Fungal Disease Awareness Week. The week is meant to highlight the importance of recognizing serious fungal diseases early enough in the course of a patient’s illness to provide life-saving treatment. The agency also reports that some fungal diseases go undiagnosed and cause serious infections in people in the United States.
 
For 2020, CDC is focusing on three fungal diseases that can feel like the flu or pneumonia: coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis and blastomycosis. 

• Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides. The fungus is known to live in the soil in the southwestern United States, parts of Mexico, and Central and South America. The fungus was also recently found in south-central Washington.
• Histoplasmosis is an infection caused by a fungus known as Histoplasma. The fungus lives in the environment, particularly in soil that contains large amounts of bird or bat droppings. In the United States, Histoplasma is mainly found in the central and eastern states, especially in areas around the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. 
• Blastomycosis is an infection caused by the fungus Blastomyces. The fungus lives in the environment, often in moist soil and in decomposing matter such as wood and leaves. Blastomyces mainly lives in areas of the United States and Canada surrounding the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys and the Great Lakes. 

“There are other pathogenic fungi that a can be found in many of our homes, schools, businesses and even hospitals,” said Franco Seif, President of Clark Seif Clark (CSC). “For example, a very common potential pathogen in properties with mold contamination is Aspergillus, which can cause aspergillosis. People with a weakened immune system are typically at greatest risk for developing aspergillosis and many of these fungal diseases. This is why places like healthcare centers, nursing homes and long-term care facilities need to be especially vigilant in preventing conditions that could allow for the growth of mold indoors.”

Dedicated to helping businesses and institutions meet these challenges are the industrial hygiene and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) professionals at Clark Seif Clark. Their experts provide environmental, building science and infection control education; consulting; and comprehensive testing and inspection services. CSC has also sponsored an educational video about Fungal Disease Awareness Week that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/T5y-dctOU2w

To learn more about this or other microbial, environmental, industrial hygiene, indoor air quality, health and safety services, please visit www.csceng.com, email csc@csceng.com or call (800) 807-1118. 
 

About Clark Seif Clark
CSC was established in 1989 to help clients in both public and private sectors address indoor air quality, occupational, environmental, and health and safety (EH&S) issues.  CSC is a leading provider of these services with multiple offices along the western seaboard and southwest. The company believes in science-based protocols and has a strong background in engineering, making them the preferred environmental consultants to industrial clients, healthcare facilities, architects, schools, builders, contractors, developers and real estate professionals.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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