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Fungus Hides in Cotton
Mike Mitka
JAMA. 2001;285:1567.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
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A common fungus known to pose a potentially deadly threat of infection to hospital patients with impaired immune systems is found on clothing, particularly items made of cotton, worn by visitors and patients.
Cotton was found to harbor and disperse the spores of Aspergillus more than other fabrics tested in a study presented to the American Society for Testing and Materials and published in Performance of Protective Clothing: Issues and Priorities for the 21st Century (vol 7; American Society for Testing and Materials 1386; 2000).
Cornell University researchers determined that apparel fabrics are easily contaminated with Aspergillus spores by outside air. They tested contaminated swatches of a variety of materials to see how the spores disperse on the various fabrics. They also tested how readily the spores remain on, or are blown off, the fabrics in an airflow chamber. In the study, cotton, with its irregular fiber shape, . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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