Corn is a common food in life, yellow and clear, sweet and delicious, is a favorite food of many people. But recently a woman had an accident because of corn.
Recently, a 23-year-old woman returned to her hometown to help collect corn, and the part of the corn she was responsible for at that time was moldy due to rain, and no protective measures were taken at that time. After that, she coughed and wheezed repeatedly for more than a month, and was diagnosed by doctors as a lung infection caused by fungi, and the culture suggested that it was The scourge of Aspergillus aflatophyllus.
What is Aspergillus aflatophyllus? Why does moldy corn cause infection in people? Is it sick to not eating, just inhaling it? Come and see.
What is Aspergillus aflatogenes?
Aspergillus flavus, as the name suggests, is a common saprophytic fungus, commonly found in moldy grains, grain products and other moldy organic matter, such as corn, peanuts, walnuts and so on.
Aflatoxin is best known for the toxin it produces, aflatoxin is a class of carcinogens recognized in the world, is a highly toxic substance, can lead to liver damage and even liver cancer.
How are lung fungus infected?
Aspergillus is a filamentous fungus, is a conditional pathogenic fungus, the general normal people have a certain resistance to it, mostly seen in people with low immunity.
Aspergillus pulmonary disease is a deep fungal infection caused by the invasion of Aspergillus into the lung tissue, accounting for 80% of all Aspergillus.
Most of the human diseases are Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus aflatophyllus. Usually these fungi can parasitize the skin and upper respiratory tract of normal people, and when the resistance decreases, pathogenic bacteria can enter the blood through the broken skin and mucous membranes, or inhale into the respiratory tract and circulate to other tissues or organs, resulting in disease.
Where are there any places prone to Aspergillus aflatogenes?
Aspergillus aflatophyllus is widely distributed in nature and human society:
In the wild, it is mainly found in soil, air, plants, wild or poultry animals and bird fur;
In rural life, there may be farmland, grain silos, livestock sheds or long-standing farmhouses;
In urban life, it is necessary to be vigilant against the unventilated humid room environment, and many well-known foods such as corn, macaroni, condiment milk, dairy products, edible oil and other products are often found;
Aflatoxin prefers hot and humid environments, and aflatoxin detection rates are particularly high in foods in tropical and subtropical regions.
How can fungal infections be prevented?
The woman in the news recalled after falling ill that the part of the corn she was in charge of at that time was moldy due to the rain, but no protective measures were taken.
From this incident, we can learn some lessons, do not pile up items such as grain that may be in close contact for a long time in an unventilated and humid environment. When dealing with these items, it is necessary to do a good job of isolation protection, wearing masks, gloves, hats, shoe covers are all good practices.
If a patient with aspergillus lung infection appears in the environment, first find the source of infection, prevent re-infection, strengthen the disinfection of the surrounding environment, and protect other healthy people. For example, for fungi, chlorine disinfectants and alcohol are selected as disinfectants recommended by the specification for the surface of the object.
It is worth reminding that since the fungal spores are very light and may drift and grow on the surface of nearby objects during the cleaning process, it is important to maintain ventilation and clean thoroughly.
Expert of this article: Shi Zhaowen, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Putuo Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Attending Physician
This article was reviewed by Xuming Luo, Chief Physician, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Putuo Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine