In September 2007, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association published a case report outlining what is believed to be the first documented case of toxic black mold poisoning in pets. Dr. Douglas Mader, a private practitioner in Florida, was performing routine dental procedures on two apparently healthy cats when he noticed frothy blood coming from the cats’ tracheas. One of the cats died the next day, and the other cat died about two weeks later. Frothy blood indicates pulmonary hemorrhage, or bleeding in the lungs, which is not associated with anesthesia or the procedures being performed on the cats.
Blood that was collected prior to the cats’ deaths was tested and found to be positive for the organism Stachybotrys chartarum, also known as toxic black mold. Toxic black mold causes respiratory problems in people, including pulmonary hemorrhage and death. Dr. Mader ordered the test after learning that the cats lived in a home that had sustained water damage during a hurricane seven months before the cats’ deaths. It turned out that the walls of the home had severe mold contamination.
Currently there are no commercial tests available to diagnose toxic black mold poisoning in pets. The authors of the case report plan to look into validating a test for toxic mold that can be used for commercial laboratories.
