Agencies for the state of Ohio and city of Columbus say they see no reason to investigate cases of a fungal disease at Ohio State because the university appears to be doing everything it can to determine whether the illness is being caused by conditions in Hitchcock Hall.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Columbus Public Health Department initially intended to investigate, but they no longer see the need.
“The [BWC] scheduled a visit to Ohio State but has since cancelled it,” OSU spokeswoman Amy Murray said. “Recognizing that the university has brought in two outside consultants to inspect and test in Hitchcock, a BWC representative said the department felt that the university is doing and has done everything possible to remedy and investigate this matter.”
Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, medical director at Columbus Public Health, said that based on the information her agency has,
“We do not need to initiate an investigation at this time.”
Three women who spent time in Hitchcock Hall — two employees of Ohio State’s College of Engineering and one student — have been diagnosed with histoplasmosis, a fungal disease, in the past eight months. A consulting firm tested the building earlier this month and found a small amount of the fungus that can cause the disease when inhaled.
The environmental consulting firm Environmental Health & Engineering tested Hitchcock Hall for the fungus. The fungus was not detected in the air, in dust samples taken in the office suite where the two employees worked or above the ceiling tiles.
But a swab of a mixing box (the section of ductwork where outside air and air returning to the outside are blended) tested positive for the fungus, according to a report that the firm delivered to the College of Engineering last week.
Samples collected from the mixing box also revealed the presence of “low concentrations of common molds” that exhibited “low-level growth.”
The report states that the low concentrations of fungi indicate there is no indoor reservoir of fungi damaging the indoor air quality and that the building’s filtration system is clean and working properly.
Furthermore, although the results of the sampling “indicate that there is not an ongoing risk of exposure” to the fungus within the building, the report does recommend that the mixing box with the mold growth
be cleaned.
The consulting firm’s inspection was the third performed in Hitchcock Hall since March, when concerns about employee health arose after a water line broke. The water line, which was connected to a coffee maker, sprayed water into the ceiling and flooded the area, Murray said.
A professional restoration company removed the water and later sprayed the office suite with anti-microbials to prevent fungal contamination.
Two OSU offices also examined the office suite for mold and harmful bacteria. They performed a visual inspection in the ceiling area, looking for bird droppings or nests, but found none and did not recommend further testing.
After one of the employees, Olga Stavridis, associate director of Career Services for engineering, was hospitalized in June, OSU brought in a consulting company to test the suite for mold, which was believed to be the culprit. Because Stavridis had not yet been diagnosed with histoplasmosis, testing for the fungus was not conducted during the June inspection.
A visual inspection by the consultant determined that testing for the fungus was not necessary, Murray said in an e-mail.
After this inspection, renovations to the office suite, which had been previously scheduled, went ahead at the request of Stavridis’ supervisor and with the approval of the College of Engineering. The office received new ceiling tiles, paint and carpet. The old tiles, paint and carpet were removed in August and were not tested for the fungus.
LeMaile-Williams of Columbus Public Health also said OSU has performed educational outreach about histoplasmosis to employees.
Murray said employees can ask for testing, but Emmett Crawley, an administrative associate who worked in the office suite, said in an e-mail to The Lantern that neither he nor his coworkers has been offered testing.
“I don’t necessarily think that it is necessary for OSU to offer testing,” LeMaile-Williams said. Many people could show positive for histoplasmosis and still not have symptoms because it is endemic to the area, she said.
The fungus “is endemic to many areas throughout the United States, including the Ohio River Valley, with up to 80 percent of young adults in states bordering the Ohio and Mississippi rivers infected with histoplasmosis at some time in their lives,” according to the report by the firm that tested for the fungus.
Histoplasmosis primarily affects the lungs, as it did in the case of Stavridis, who had to get part of her lung removed. Occasionally, other organs are affected when the disease takes a form that is fatal if untreated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
