A known allergen that causes Type I and Type III allergies. Common on many indoor surfaces, especially on material containing cellulose. Prevalent within carpets, cardboard, paper, and sheetrock. It can cause skin and nail infections. Some species produce sterigmatocystin, a mycotoxin shown to cause kidney and liver damage in laboratory animals.
A common fungus in soils, dung, decaying organic matter, seeds and wood or other cellulose-containing materials. Can be found indoors in water-damaged buildings on sheet rock, wall paper and other paper products. It is a common cause of food spoilage. In some species it is allergenic, but rarely causes human infections.
toxin-former commonly found on damp sheet- rock
sp. Large ascomycetous fungus producing perithecia. It is found on a variety of substrates containing cellulose, including paper and plant compost. It has been found on paper in sheetrock. It is reported to be allergenic. Can produce an Acremonium- like state on fungal media.
(k--toe-me-um) - contaminant, rarely involved in systemic and cutaneous disease and sometimes reported to be allergenic. Some species can produce toxins, and there is some research interest on whether these toxins can cause cancer. Primary IAQ importance is currently related to that it will grow in the same conditions as Stachybotrys (wet cellulose) and amplified amounts in indoor air could be a warning that conditions do exist for Stachybotrys growth. Many times on damp sheetrock paper, colonies of Chaetomium and Stachybotrys will be growing on top of one another or side by side (this can also be an important consideration when doing tape lifts of sheetrock because most of the time the colonies are not distinguishable by the naked eye – the small area that is sampled might be a pure colony of just Chaetomium even though numerous colonies of Stachybotrys might exist.)