A few days ago on the list I posted a note about mold toxins causing illness
which was brought out on the TV program Vital Signs. My husband sent a note
to the Center for Disease Control, which was involved in the story on the
show. In the reply back, it was mentioned that a study on TM was being done
by the National Institute fof Neurological Disorders and Strokes. Thought you
might like to know. I'm sending a copy of the correspondence.
Barbara
In a message dated 97-03-18 08:44:46 EST, jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov (Danneman,
Jackie H.) writes:
> Subj: Transverse Myelitis
> Date: 97-03-18 08:44:46 EST
> From: jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov (Danneman, Jackie H.)
> To: jharper33(AT)aol.com ('jim harper')
>
>
> I have sent a copy of your request to the person on-call for the TV show
> Vital Signs. I would also suggest that you contact the National Institute
> of Neurological disorders and Strokes at (301) 496-5751. They are located
> in Maryland, and are within the National Institutes of Health. I can
reach
> the NIH via email by NIHINFO(AT)OD31TMI.OD.NIH.GOV. i DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN
> REACH THEM ON THIS ADDRESS. CDC IS NOT DOING A STUDY ON TRANSVERSE
MYELITIS
>
> AT THIS TIME, BUT NINDS IS.
> I HOPE THIS HELPS.
> MRS. JACKIE DANNEMAN
> PUBLIC INQUIRIES OFFICE
> CDC
> From: Colquitt, Joann
> To: Danneman, Jackie H.
> Subject: FW: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
> Date: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 8:09AM
>
>
> ----------
> From: Stansell, Janet
> To: Colquitt, Joann
> Subject: FW: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
> Date: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 7:42AM
>
>
> ----------
> From: Jharper33
> To: netinfo
> Subject: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
> Date: Mon, Mar 17, 1997 8:06PM
>
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> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 20:06:30 -0500 (EST)
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> To: netinfo(AT)cdc1.cdc.gov
> From: Jharper33(AT)AOL.com
> Reply-To: Jharper33(AT)AOL.com
> Supposedly-From: Jim Harper
> Subject: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
> content-length: 3878
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> --
> realname: Jim Harper
> title: Research Chemist
> organization:
> address: 5285 Wildwood Lane
> Douglasville, GA 30135
> phone: 770-944-4702
> comments: One year and six months ago my wife suffered a
> sudden, severe paralysis that occurred over the course of 3-4 hours. She
> was
> diagnosed as having Transverse Myelitis. This attack "coincidentally"
> occurred the morning after she had opened a glass container of a
commercial
> cheese spread which, though newly purchased, contain a mold on the surface
> of
> the cheese.
> She immediately closed the jar with the intention on returning it to the
> store where purchased. By 9:00 am the next morning, she was paralyzed
from
> the waist down and took three months to regain limited mobility. The
> neurologist suggested that there had been a viral attack at some location
on
> her spinal cord and dismissed our concerns of a neurotoxin from the cheese
> spread.
> At that time I called the CDC (during the Labor Day weekend) and was also
> told that there was no known possibility of an airborne fungus that might
> act
> as a neurotoxin.
>
> I was recently watching "Vital Signs (ABC)" in which a CDC physician
> identified fungus around heating and air conditioning inlets as a cause of
> pulmonary hemmorages in small children. This raises the question about
the
> fungus and a possiblity that it was involved in my wife's case.
>
> I would like to obtain the name of the physician that was featured in this
> program to correspond directly. I have retained the container of cheese,
> partly because I still suspect that it may have caused my wife's condition
> and partly because I am concerned about how to dispose of it.
>
> Please forward this message if necessary to an appropriate member of the
CDC
> staff that would be willing to help us address this issue. I am attaching
> some additional information that was posted on a Transverse Myelitis list
> server:
>
>
> Subj: Re: Molds
> Date: 97-03-16 09:30:36 EST
> From: symbiotc(AT)erols.com (George)
> Resent-from: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
> Reply-to: symbiotc(AT)erols.com
> To: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
>
> JHarper33(AT)aol.com wrote:
>
> > Did anyone see Vital Signs on ABC Thursday Night? They had a story
> about
> > a number of infants who dveloped bleeding in their lungs with no
apparent
> > cause. The first mother was accused of child abuse, then other cases
began
> to
> > show up. After an extensive search, it was discovered that all the
> infants'
> > homes had water damage and mold in the basement, and in at least one
home,
> > the air return came from the basement. After a lot of research, they
> > determined the infants became ill by inhaling toxins in the molds.
> >
> > I bring this up because the night before my TM attack, I had opened
a
> > new jar of a cheese-and-salsa dip and found mold in it. I put it back in
> the
> > refrigerator to take back to the store. When we brought this up to the
> > neurologists, we were told molds had to be ingested to hurt you; there
> wasn't
> > a case of molds affecting anyone by being inhaled. My husband even
called
> the
> > CDC and was told the same thing.
> >
> > Now, I know that water-damage-mold is not cheese-dip-mold and
> pulmonary
> > bleeding is not TM, but to my husband and I, the possibility of inhaling
> > toxins in molds reopens the question (never really closed for us) of
> whether
> > there was a connection between this mold and TM.
> >
> > Coming up with a cause may or may not help lead to a cure, but it
> would
> > help with the mystery of "Where did this come from?"
> >
> > Did anyone who watched the program catch the name of the person
from
> the
> > CDC who researched this case?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Barbara
>
> Barbara, I found the the show "Vital Signs" profoundly interesting. Has
> anyone responding to your posting re: asscociation of mold toxins and
> TM?
>
>
>
>
> Remote host: www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
> Remote Browser: Mozilla/2.0 (Compatible; AOL-IWENG 3.0; Win16)
>
>
> ----------------------- Headers --------------------------------
> From jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov Tue Mar 18 08:44:24 1997
> Return-Path: jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov
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<jharper33(AT)aol.
> com>; Tue, 18 Mar 1997 08:44:22 -0500
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> Tue, 18 Mar 1997 08:44:20 -0500 (EST)
> Received: by SmtpOut.em.cdc.gov with Microsoft Mail
> id <332E1E64(AT)SmtpOut.em.cdc.gov>; Tue, 18 Mar 97 08:47:32 EST
> From: "Danneman, Jackie H." <jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov>
> To: "'jim harper'" <jharper33(AT)aol.com>
> Subject: Transverse Myelitis
> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 97 08:42:00 EST
> Message-ID: <332E1E64(AT)SmtpOut.em.cdc.gov>
> Encoding: 149 TEXT
> X-Mailer: Microsoft Mail V3.0
>
---------------------
Forwarded message:
From: jhd1(AT)opsmas5.em.cdc.gov (Danneman, Jackie H.)
To: jharper33(AT)aol.com ('jim harper')
Date: 97-03-18 08:44:46 EST
I have sent a copy of your request to the person on-call for the TV show
Vital Signs. I would also suggest that you contact the National Institute
of Neurological disorders and Strokes at (301) 496-5751. They are located
in Maryland, and are within the National Institutes of Health. I can reach
the NIH via email by NIHINFO(AT)OD31TMI.OD.NIH.GOV. i DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN
REACH THEM ON THIS ADDRESS. CDC IS NOT DOING A STUDY ON TRANSVERSE MYELITIS
AT THIS TIME, BUT NINDS IS.
I HOPE THIS HELPS.
MRS. JACKIE DANNEMAN
PUBLIC INQUIRIES OFFICE
CDC
From: Colquitt, Joann
To: Danneman, Jackie H.
Subject: FW: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 8:09AM
----------
From: Stansell, Janet
To: Colquitt, Joann
Subject: FW: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 1997 7:42AM
----------
From: Jharper33
To: netinfo
Subject: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
Date: Mon, Mar 17, 1997 8:06PM
Return-Path: <nobody(AT)cdc2.cdc.gov>
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Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 20:06:30 -0500 (EST)
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To: netinfo(AT)cdc1.cdc.gov
From: Jharper33(AT)AOL.com
Reply-To: Jharper33(AT)AOL.com
Supposedly-From: Jim Harper
Subject: Message to NetInfo www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
content-length: 3878
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
realname: Jim Harper
title: Research Chemist
organization:
address: 5285 Wildwood Lane
Douglasville, GA 30135
phone: 770-944-4702
comments: One year and six months ago my wife suffered a
sudden, severe paralysis that occurred over the course of 3-4 hours. She
was
diagnosed as having Transverse Myelitis. This attack "coincidentally"
occurred the morning after she had opened a glass container of a commercial
cheese spread which, though newly purchased, contain a mold on the surface
of
the cheese.
She immediately closed the jar with the intention on returning it to the
store where purchased. By 9:00 am the next morning, she was paralyzed from
the waist down and took three months to regain limited mobility. The
neurologist suggested that there had been a viral attack at some location on
her spinal cord and dismissed our concerns of a neurotoxin from the cheese
spread.
At that time I called the CDC (during the Labor Day weekend) and was also
told that there was no known possibility of an airborne fungus that might
act
as a neurotoxin.
I was recently watching "Vital Signs (ABC)" in which a CDC physician
identified fungus around heating and air conditioning inlets as a cause of
pulmonary hemmorages in small children. This raises the question about the
fungus and a possiblity that it was involved in my wife's case.
I would like to obtain the name of the physician that was featured in this
program to correspond directly. I have retained the container of cheese,
partly because I still suspect that it may have caused my wife's condition
and partly because I am concerned about how to dispose of it.
Please forward this message if necessary to an appropriate member of the CDC
staff that would be willing to help us address this issue. I am attaching
some additional information that was posted on a Transverse Myelitis list
server:
Subj: Re: Molds
Date: 97-03-16 09:30:36 EST
From: symbiotc(AT)erols.com (George)
Resent-from: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
Reply-to: symbiotc(AT)erols.com
To: tmic-list(AT)eskimo.com
JHarper33(AT)aol.com wrote:
> Did anyone see Vital Signs on ABC Thursday Night? They had a story
about
> a number of infants who dveloped bleeding in their lungs with no apparent
> cause. The first mother was accused of child abuse, then other cases began
to
> show up. After an extensive search, it was discovered that all the
infants'
> homes had water damage and mold in the basement, and in at least one home,
> the air return came from the basement. After a lot of research, they
> determined the infants became ill by inhaling toxins in the molds.
>
> I bring this up because the night before my TM attack, I had opened a
> new jar of a cheese-and-salsa dip and found mold in it. I put it back in
the
> refrigerator to take back to the store. When we brought this up to the
> neurologists, we were told molds had to be ingested to hurt you; there
wasn't
> a case of molds affecting anyone by being inhaled. My husband even called
the
> CDC and was told the same thing.
>
> Now, I know that water-damage-mold is not cheese-dip-mold and
pulmonary
> bleeding is not TM, but to my husband and I, the possibility of inhaling
> toxins in molds reopens the question (never really closed for us) of
whether
> there was a connection between this mold and TM.
>
> Coming up with a cause may or may not help lead to a cure, but it
would
> help with the mystery of "Where did this come from?"
>
> Did anyone who watched the program catch the name of the person from
the
> CDC who researched this case?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Barbara
Barbara, I found the the show "Vital Signs" profoundly interesting. Has
anyone responding to your posting re: asscociation of mold toxins and
TM?
Remote host: www-aa1.proxy.aol.com (152.163.231.131)
Remote Browser: Mozilla/2.0 (Compatible; AOL-IWENG 3.0; Win16)