by Shanna Riley

Created on: March 27, 2008

Nearly everyone remembers the pet food-caused deaths of dozens of family dogs in the United States due to contaminated pet food sent out by Diamond Pet Foods in 2005. Yet many people do not realize the lethal agent in the contaminated food was a type of mold; one known as aflatoxin, which Dianond Pet Food's corn shipments had elevated levels of.

Mold is a natural occurring fungus that aids in biodegradation and can grow on any surface where conditions - mainly an abundance of moisture - are right. There are thousands of species of mold. Some molds are used to make food, cheese and soy sauce, for example; while still others are used in the production of medicines - the invention of penicillin involved Alexander Fleming's experiments with a mold known as Penicillium chrysogenum.

For all its benefits and natural origins, there are some types of mold that can be very harmful, even lethal, to animals and humans. Most harmful molds fall under the species of mycotoxins, which can cause a number of health problems for even healthy people when they are exposed to it. Unhealthy people or asthmatics are in even more danger when they are exposed to mycotoxins in the air or in buildings in which they frequent, such as home or work.

Dermatophyte is another type of mold that can cause health problems in humans, mainly in the forms of Jock Itch, ringworm, or Athlete's Foot. Dermatophyte is a parasitic fungus that affects human skin, hair, and nails. Though painful and uncomfortable, however, dermtophyte is not lethal.

Mycotoxins - also known as "toxic mold" - in high levels or with long-term exposure - can kill. Before such an extreme end, however, people exposed to mycotoxins will encounter a number of health problems, the extent and severity of these is determined by a person's immune system. Those with a weak or weakened immune system will suffer the worst after mycotoxin mold exposure. Often health professionals have a difficult, if not impossible, time determining toxic mold as the cause of a person's illness or symptoms. The infected person often cannot smell or see the mold they are being exposed to, and the myriad of symptoms will be attributed to many other things before mold is ever even expected.

One such example of long-term exposure and a myriad of symptomatic persons is "sick building syndrome" (SBS). In an office building or workplace - where people congregate every day for many hours - with poor indoor air quality, hidden mycotoxin mold can develop. These people,

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