Ohio State College of Engineering employees met with an investigator from a Massachusetts consulting firm last week to develop a plan to investigate whether Hitchcock Hall is infested with a dangerous fungus, said Amy Murray, assistant director of OSU Media Relations.
About 30 employees who work in Hitchcock are moving out of the building this week because some employees are concerned that a fungus may be making them sick.
The fungus can cause a disease called histoplasmosis. The fungus grows as mold in soil and as yeast in humans and animals, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“It is typically found in bird or bat guano,” said Kevin Coghlan, an official at the consulting firm, Environmental Health and Engineering Company.
“It is really only a concern when there is exposure to a large amount of material from the guano,” Coghlan said. “Individuals exposed to it can come down with the condition called histoplasmosis. It is more of a concern for those who have a compromised immune system.”
Coghlan said a typical investigation starts with walking through the building. Investigators take a look at the facilities and ask questions of the people who work there. Then samples are taken from the building and tested.
“We take a look at the whole view. Testing is only one piece of the whole investigation,” Coghlan said. “Sampling is not really something you want to come out of the gate with and start sampling all over the place, because then we will get data back and not know what to do with that information.”
Coghlan said it is possible for employees to become exposed to the fungus away from the workplace.
“Maybe they were exposed to it at home and they come to the same building to work, so people associate that disease with their workplace,” Coghlan said. “So we can’t just expect everything at face value. We have to do an investigation and really learn and hear back from the individuals infected and the building administrators.”
Murray said that two consultants will return this week to begin the investigation.
Coghlan says it is not likely that more than one building on campus would contain the fungus.
“It is going to be unique to a particular building, unless there are some conditions that are replicated,” Coghlan said. “It is usually associated with a particular source, and that source is typically a build-up of bird or bat guano.”
Coghlan said it will be at least two weeks until his company determines whether a fungus is in Hitchcock.
“We will know more after the first couple weeks of collecting information and getting some feedback,” Coghlan said. “Then we will have a much better sense of what we need to do to evaluate the situation.”
