Mould in the indoor environment - occurrence, risks and preventive measures.

States that there is an evident relationship between the occurrence of mould indoors and medical conditions such as inflammation of the airways, and that glucans, found in active and inactive mould, can be used as a measure of the biomass of mould. Elevated quantities of glucans have been found in buildings where complaints had been made, but where there was no visible mould or mouldy smell. An investigation of an estate of terraced housed found that the quantity of airborne glucans was determined as an indication of the quantity of mould spores in the air in 70 houses. The results showed that the quantity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) was greater among people living in houses with higher glucan concentrations. Among people in houses with high levels of glucans there was also a relationship between lung function and the number of years that the people concerned had lived in the investigated house. In an investigation in schools also that occurrence of airway inflammation has been demonstrated among those who had been exposed to high levels of glucans as an indicator of the quantity of mould cells.