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Aspergillosis
- Question
- Dear team,
is it possible that I get infective aspergillosis also besides allergic aspergillosis from an old and highly aspergillus polluted appartment? Thank you for your answer.
- Answer
- Dear CF patient,
your question concerns many CF patients, because the CF-centers keep recommending that contact with mould must be avoided as far as possible.
In CF-patients the most frequent disease caused by mycopathogens is allergic aspergillosis (ABPA), of which the origin is an allergic infection of the small airways and which has to be treated with cortisone and possibly with a drug against mycopathogens. Allergic Aspergillosis develops irrespective of the patient’s living in an old appartment poluted by mycopathogens because Aspergillus occurs outside buildings also, for example in moist hay or greenery. Of course allergic respiratory tract diseases may be caused by other mycopathogens also, these also being pathogens mostly found outside houses.
An infective aspergillosis is only found with patients whose autogenous defense is weakend, for example patients with cancer during chemotherapy, or with patients after an organ transplantation who are given drugs which impair the autogenious defense system (immunsuppression) to prevent a rejection of the transplanted organ. This situation does not exist with most CF-patients unless they are receiving a lung transplantation or suffering from a malignant disease. On the contrary: More often than not their autogenous defense is more active than with healthy people. Nevertheless mould poluted lodgings are not ideal residences for a CF patient. We do not know yet which - besides aspergillus- mycopathogens may produce allergic inflammation – for candida this has already been demonstrated. Furthermore mycopathogens release substances which additionally may damage the mucosa.
Therefore considering the medical aspect I would like to advise you as anyone not affected by CF not to live in mould poluted lodgings, even if you would not develop an infective aspergillosis.
With kind regards
Dr. E. Rietschel - 20.11.2008
