Due to a mysterious infestation believed to be bird mites and toxic mould in the walls of the subcouncil office, Subcouncil 2 meetings were moved out of council chambers into the Kraaifontein Library hall.
Subcouncil 2 chair Marian Nieuwoudt made the announcement at a recent subcouncil meeting saying that employees were all falling ill with the same symptoms.
She said those working in the office, including herself, were getting very sick.
“It started with what felt like sinus and later developed into headaches, joint and muscle pain, brain fog and tiredness,” she said.
According to Nieuwoudt staff have also felt things crawling on their skin and biting them.
After reporting it to the City in March this year, the City’s environmental health department in July conducted an air test at the offices.
In the results of the sample analysis it was stated that several fungal spores and demodex mites was found.
However, no traces of bird mites were found. According to a Durbanville doctor who is treating three of the employees who work in the said offices, four strains of toxic mould were mentioned in the above-said report.
She told TygerBurger she suspects the illnesses to have been caused by these toxic moulds, as well as bird mites, although the latter cannot be proved. The doctor who does not want to be named specialises in vector borne diseases that includes Lyme’s disease.
She also conducted a blood test on one of the patients that revealed a high level of mycotoxins in the blood stream and possible chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS). CIRS is a progressive, multi-system, multi-symptom illness characterized by exposure to biotoxins and include symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, aches, muscle cramps and headaches.
“This is caused by the toxic mould that could also be responsible for the chronic sinus in another one of the patients. It can later also affect vision and result in stomach and heart problems. The symptoms associated to the pathogen in the bird mite ranges from body aches, rashes and could also result in neurological symptoms. Together these two pathogens can make a person very sick,” she told TygerBurger.
“According to veterinarian and scientist dr Deon de Beer who has specialised in birds for 24 years, a dangerous pathogen called Trichosporon asahii that is possibly found in bird mites are hard to identify in a laboratory.
He says the fungus will enter your body when you are bitten by the mite.
Trichosporon asahii
He says the fungus is usually found in places like dirty buildings and can be spread by nesting birds.
Despite the findings of a sample analysis by the City’s occupational health department that identified mould in the building, Mayco member for corporate services Theresa Uys says “testing would need to be done to determine if the substance is mould”.
In terms of the outcome of the report, no traces were found of bird lice/mites. We can confirm the presence of a black substance on two of the panelling’s on the floor, however the grouting between the panels are black paint,” she stated.
The above-mentioned analysis dated 10 August and seen by TygerBurger, states: “The presence of mould spores and dust house mite does present as potential allergens for persons deemed hypersensitive.”
Uys says fumigation was done at the building on 9 March and the pest disinfestation treatment cycle was increased to weekly while the investigation was pending.
It was recommended that foggers be used, bird droppings cleaned and the bird netting be regularly checked for defects.
She said a dedicated cleaner was assigned to the subcouncil office in order to increase the frequency of cleaning within the office area.
But despite these interventions, the complaints continued and the case was referred to occupational health and safety.
“After an investigation, it was recommended to acquire assistance from UCT to assist with identification of any possible root causes of the bites. UCT requested samples for further analysis,” says Uys.
