Like many molds, Penicillium can threaten those with weak or compromised immune systems, causing allergic reactions or infections . ... When ingested, one species, called Penicillium marneffei, can cause serious infections that affect the lungs, kidneys, spleen, liver and bone marrow.
Can Penicillium mold make you sick?
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 .
Is Penicillium harmful or beneficial?
Are Penicillium molds dangerous? Since Penicillium molds can cause food spoilage, they also present a health hazard when consumed . This is because some species of Penicillium produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins. (9) These toxins make food inedible and dangerous.
Is Penicillium chrysogenum harmful to humans?
What disease does Penicillium chrysogenum cause? With only a handful of reports of side effects and diseases, Penicillium species are generally considered to be safe . Despite this fact, P. chrysogenum has been known to cause a variety of opportunistic infections.
Is Penicillium mold bad?
Penicillium – This mold genus includes hundreds of species, some of which are used to produce the antibiotic penicillin. It is a blue-green mold that many people have seen growing on food. Some Penicillium species produce airborne spores that can act as allergens and asthma triggers for sensitive people .
How do I get rid of penicillium mold?
Start cleaning the moldy area by combining the cleanser with hot water . Using the stiff scrub brush, scrub the detergent over the surface of the moldy areas. Rinse with clean water and remove any excess water. Bleach, while not always necessary, is an option that helps to further sanitize the area.
How do you identify penicillium mold?
Species of Penicillium are recognized by their dense brush-like spore-bearing structures called penicilli (sing.: penicillus). The conidiophores are simple or branched and are terminated by clusters of flask-shaped phialides.
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.
How is Penicillium helpful to humans?
One of the most recognized types of fungi is Penicillium. It is perhaps best known as the fungus, P. chrysogenum, which produces penicillin, a molecule that has saved countless lives as an antibiotic. It is also used in the production of a number of important biotechnology produced enzymes and macromolecules .
What diseases are caused by mold?
These conditions include asthma (either newly diagnosed or worsening of existing asthma), the lung conditions called interstitial lung disease and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis, and recurring cold-like symptoms, sinus infections, and hoarseness.
What disease did penicillin first cure?
Widespread use of Penicillin
The first patient was successfully treated for streptococcal septicemia in the United States in 1942.
What are the side effects of penicillium aspergillus mold?
- Fever and chills.
- A cough that brings up blood (hemoptysis)
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest or joint pain.
- Headaches or eye symptoms.
- Skin lesions.
Is Penicillium Aspergillus 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.
How long does it take mold to make you sick?
These spores proliferate quickly and can take hold in places with poor ventilation and high humidity in less than 24 hours . The problem starts when you inhale these spores. They produce toxic substances known as mycotoxins that can produce an immune response in some individuals and actually extremely toxic themselves.
What happens if you eat penicillium mold?
The short answer is no, you’re probably not going to die from eating mold; you’ll digest it like any other food , and as long as you’ve got a relatively healthy immune system, the most you’ll experience is some nausea or vomiting due to the taste/idea of what you’ve just eaten.
How common is Penicillium?
This family of molds was first identified in 1809 in a book by German naturalist Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link. Most of the estimated 300 or more species produce blue, green or yellow spores, and are one of the most common causes of fruit and vegetable spoilage.
