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Physical Characteristics: Penicillium mold is mostly green, blue-green, or grey-green, but can be white, yellow, or pinkish. Its texture ranges from mostly velvety to powdery. Health Symptoms: Headaches, itchy and watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, coughing, sneezing and rashes.
How do you identify Penicillium mold?
Penicillium is the broad term for over 300 types of molds that share similar characteristics. It was named after the Latin word, penicillus, meaning paintbrush because of its close resemblance to the bristles. It can be easily spotted by its usually vivid, blue-green or yellow color and it’s velvety texture.
How dangerous is Penicillium mold?
What Are the Health Effects? Like many molds, Penicillium can threaten those with weak or compromised immune systems, causing allergic reactions or infections. Some species produce mycotoxins which are known carcinogens. Others species cause measurable organ damage when inhaled.
Where does Penicillium mold grow?
Penicillium are very commonly found in soil, on decaying vegetation and compost or on wood, dried foodstuffs, spices, dry cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables {808, 3095}they are also found growing on building materials in water-damaged environments {413} as well as in indoor air and house dust.
What does penicillin mold look like?
Whenever you see blue-green mold, think penicillin or another mold within the Penicillium genus. The blue-green color is distinctive though it can come in a variety of shades ranging from dark green with a bluish tinge to brilliant turquoise spores.
Is Penicillium black mold?
‘Black’ mold is an umbrella term of not one mold type, but multiple species of mold. The mold’s commonly referred to as ‘black toxic’ mold are mold species of stachybotrys, chaetomium, aspergillus, penicillium, and fusarium.
Is Penicillium the same as penicillin?
The antibiotic penicillin is made from the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. Stilton and most other blue cheeses do use Penicillium mould to create the blue veins, but they use a different strain (P. roqueforti) and the whole mould, rather than the penicillin extract.
How is Penicillium treated?
The potent in vitro activity of amphotericin B (AMB) and terbinafine (TRB) and of the echinocandins against Penicillium and Talaromyces species might offer a good therapeutic alternative for the treatment of infections caused by these fungi.
How common is Penicillium mold?
Where Penicillium Grows. This blue or blue-green colored mold is one of the most common kinds of mold found in ordinary homes. There are more than 200 known species and most of them grow quickly and spread easily from one place to another.
What disease does Penicillium cause?
Superficial infection (keratitis and otomycosis) is commonly caused by Penicillium spp. Allergic pulmonary disease, often occupational (such as various cheeseworkers’ diseases), is also common. Optimal therapy for invasive infection is not established, but surgery may be advisable if possible.
What are the symptoms of exposure to Penicillium aspergillus mold?
Signs and symptoms depend on which organs are affected, but in general, invasive aspergillosis can cause: Fever and chills. A cough that brings up blood (hemoptysis) Shortness of breath. Chest or joint pain. Headaches or eye symptoms. Skin lesions.
Can Penicillium cause human infection?
Penicillium marneffei is an emerging pathogenic fungus that can cause a fatal systemic mycosis in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
How do you remove Penicillium mold?
Pour approximately 1 gallon of water into a bucket and add 1 cup of bleach. After the area has been cleaned, use a sponge to thoroughly wipe down the area with the bleach solution and let it soak in for 5 to 15 minutes.
Is white mold penicillin?
Penicillium mold naturally produces the antibiotic penicillin.
Is Penicillium toxic?
As frequent agents of food spoilage, Penicillium molds can be hazardous to human health. This is because some species of Penicillium produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins (10). Furthermore, inhalation of Penicillium spores can trigger allergic reactions in individuals who are sensitive to mold.
What is white fuzzy mold?
What is white fuzzy mold? This is a type of mold with a white, fuzzy appearance caused by the airborne spores of the fungus. The mold is also known as powdery mildew due to its powdery look and texture. Allowing this mold to spread in your home can stimulate allergic reactions in emotional people.
Is Penicillium common in homes?
Penicillium is a common both indoors and outdoors. Outdoors it can be found growing in soil, decaying plant debris, and fruit rot. Indoors it can be found growing on water damaged building materials as well as on food items.
What does Penicillium smell like?
Ubiquitous, Cosmopolitan, one of the most commonly found molds. Often produces microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC’s) that give the distinctive heavy, musty odor.
Is Penicillium Aspergillus toxic?
Penicillium /Aspergillus – the most common mold species to appear in indoor air samples. The majority of the hundreds of sub-species are allergenic; only a few are toxic. The two species will grow together; also considered a toxic mold due to production of mycotoxins.
What is Penicillium allergy?
When mold fungus spores reach the air, they can cause a variety of allergy symptoms like a runny nose, itchy eyes, and coughing. While there are many different types of molds, one common indoor mold is Penicillium, which can cause nasal allergies and asthma in certain people.
What food does Penicillium grow?
This is the case of fungi belonging to the genus Penicillium, which grow on cured meat products and on many kinds of cheese.
What foods to avoid if you have a mold allergy?
Try to avoid these big offenders: Dairy Products. Mushrooms. Meat and Fish. Alcohol & Fermented Foods. Condiments & Dressings. Fruit. Dried fruits such as dates, prunes, figs and raisins are known to contain mold. Melons can also cause a mold-induced reaction, especially when they are overripe.
What causes Paracoccidioidomycosis?
Paracoccidioidomycosis is an infection caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides. This fungus lives in parts of Central and South America. Anyone who lives in or visits areas where Paracoccidioides lives can get paracoccidioidomycosis, but it most often affects men who work outdoors in rural areas.
Does Penicillium cause pneumonia?
Penicillium digitatum is a plant pathogen that commonly causes a postharvest fungal disease of citrus called green mould; it very rarely causes systemic mycosis in humans. Here, we report a case of fatal pneumonia due to P. digitatum infection, as confirmed by repeated examination of cultured sputum.
