STUDY OF TOXIN PRODUCTION BY ISOLATES OF STACHYBOTRYS-CHARTARUM AND MEMNONIELLA-ECHINATA ISOLATED DURING A STUDY OF PULMONARY HEMOSIDEROSISIN INFANTS

A cluster of cases of pulmonary hemosiderosis among infants was report ed in Cleveland, Ohio, during 1993 and 1994. These unusual cases appea red only in infants ranging in age from 1 to 8 months and were charact erized by pulmonary hemorrhage, which caused the babies to cough up bl ood. A case control study identified major home water damage (from plu mbing leaks, roof leaks, or flooding) as a risk factor for development of pulmonary hemorrhage in these infants. Because of an interest in t he possibility that trichothecene mycotoxins might be involved in this illness, a number of isolates of Stachybotrys chartarum were grown in the laboratory on rice, and extracts were prepared and analyzed both for cytotoxicity and for specific toxins. Two isolates of Memnoniella echinata, a fungus closely related to S. chartarum, were also included in these studies. S. chartarum isolates collected from the homes were shown to produce a number of highly toxic compounds, and the profiles of toxic compounds from M. echinata were similar; the most notable di fference was the fact that the principal metabolites produced by M. ec hinata were griseofulvins.