Hoofdkussen
bevat veel ziekte verwekkende schimmels.*
Na
meer dan 70 jaar weer eens een onderzoek naar de toestand van hoofdkussens.
In
de verschillende hoofdkussen met een dons, veertjes en synthetische vulling vond
men grote hoeveelheden schimmels waaronder be belangrijkste Aspergillus
fumigatus.
Deze
is een belangrijke aanleiding voor dodelijke infecties bij o.a. leukemie patiënten.
Bij
anderen veroorzaakt of verergert deze schimmel astma, sinusproblemen of allergieën.
In
ziekenhuizen heeft men doorgaans deze problemen niet omdat men een kunststofhoes
over het kussen heeft. Thuis blijken vooral de synthetische kussens de meeste
schimmels te bevatten. Zaak is dus regelmatig het kussen te reinigen.
Your
pillow has millions of fungal spores, University of Manchester Study
Researchers at The University of
Manchester funded by the Fungal Research Trust have discovered millions of
fungal spores right under our noses - in our pillows.
Aspergillus fumigatus, the species most commonly found in the pillows, is most
likely to cause disease; and the resulting condition Aspergillosis has become
the leading infectious cause of death in leukaemia and bone marrow transplant
patients. Fungi also exacerbate asthma in adults.
The researchers dissected both feather and synthetic samples and identified
several thousand spores of fungus per gram of used pillow - more than a million
spores per pillow.
Fungal contamination of bedding was first studied in 1936, but there have been
no reports in the last seventy years. For this new study, which was published
online today in the scientific journal Allergy, the team studied samples from
ten pillows with between 1.5 and 20 years of regular use.
Each pillow was found to contain a substantial fungal load, with four to 16
different species being identified per sample and even higher numbers found in
synthetic pillows. The microscopic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus was particularly
evident in synthetic pillows, and fungi as diverse as bread and vine moulds and
those usually found on damp walls and in showers were also found.
Professor Ashley Woodcock who led the research said: "We know that pillows
are inhabited by the house dust mite which eats fungi, and one theory is that
the fungi are in turn using the house dust mites' faeces as a major source of
nitrogen and nutrition (along with human skin scales). There could therefore be
a 'miniature ecosystem' at work inside our pillows."
Aspergillus is a very common fungus, carried in the air as well as being found
in cellars, household plant pots, compost, computers and ground pepper and
spices. Invasive Aspergillosis occurs mainly in the lungs and sinuses, although
it can spread to other organs such as the brain, and is becoming increasingly
common across other patient groups. It is very difficult to treat, and as many
as 1 in 25 patients who die in modern European teaching hospitals have the
disease.
Immuno-compromised patients such as transplantation, AIDS and steroid treatment
patients are also frequently affected with life-threatening Aspergillus
pneumonia and sinusitis. Fortunately, hospital pillows have plastic covers and
so are unlikely to cause problems, but patients being discharged home - where
pillows may be old and fungus-infected - could be at risk of infection.
Aspergillus can also worsen asthma, particularly in adults who have had asthma
for many years, and cause allergic sinusitis in patients with allergic
tendencies. Constant exposure to fungus in bed could be problematic. It can also
get into the lung cavities created by tuberculosis which affects a third of the
world's population, causing general ill-health and bleeding in the lung, as well
as causing a range of plant and animal diseases.
Dr Geoffrey Scott, Chairman of the Fungal Research Trust which funded the study,
said: "These new findings are potentially of major significance to people
with allergic diseases of the lungs and damaged immune systems - especially
those being sent home from hospital."
Professor Ashley Woodcock added: "Since patients spend a third of their
life sleeping and breathing close to a potentially large and varied source of
fungi, these findings certainly have important implications for patients with
respiratory disease - especially asthma and sinusitis."
The Fungal Research Trust (www.fungalresearchtrust.org) is a registered charity
which funds research into and education about fungal infection. It was set up in
1991 and since then has distributed in excess of £1.6m in research grants
resulting in more than 80 research publications in clinical and scientific
aspects of fungal infection. It also supports the Aspergillus Website which
achieves around 160,000 page requests a month. As well as being a key resource
for clinicians, the website also devotes a section to patients and relatives to
help them understand more about the disease. It can be found at http://www.aspergillus.man.ac.uk.
The University of Manchester (www.manchester.ac.uk) is the largest higher
education institution in the country with almost 36 000 students. Its Faculty of
Medical & Human Sciences (www.mhs.manchester.ac.uk) is one of the largest
faculties of clinical and health sciences in Europe, with a research income of
over £37 million.
The School of Medicine (www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk) is the largest of the
Faculty's five Schools, with 1300 staff, almost 2000 undergraduates and a £32M
research income. It hosts one of the world's strongest clinical and research
groups in lung diseases, with a special focus on asthma and chronic lung disease and how the lungs
interact with the environment (including fungi).
