Pa. hospital battles deadly mold outbreak as 3rd patient dies

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) first suspected the link between the molds and the deaths during the early days of September when they discovered the mold proliferation in one of its intensive care units for cardiothoracic patients in Presbyterian. Another patient who didn’t stay in the unit but in the other campus of the hospital called Montefiore also died in what could be a “fungal infection”.

The decision was made in consultation with the United Network for Organ Sharing and will remain in effect “until we have completed our investigation and are satisfied that we’ve done all we can do to address the situation”, chief medical and scientific officer Dr. Steven Shapiro said in a written statement Monday evening.

A western Pennsylvania medical system says it is shutting down a Pittsburgh hospital’s transplant program due to a mold problem that may have contributed to the deaths of three transplant patients. He said the medical center is trying to contact all the patients with scheduled organ transplants and will do everything to ensure patients receive life-saving transplants if they are critically ill.

Officials have struggled to find the source of the mold that infected patients at UPMC. The patient in guarded condition was also in that unit. This fungal infection development has caused doctors to place all 24 transplant patients in UPMC Presbyterian and Montefiore on new antifungal medications. The exact location of the source of the mold is also unknown at this time, and infection control experts are investigating the air seals around windows and doors, medical equipment, air filters and hospital laundry, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Two other patients died in October and in June at UPMC Presbyterian, CNN affiliate WTAE-TV reported.

For the latest updates on the mold, visit the hospital’s blog.

The hospital said the mold that caused the infections is no different than the mold often found on fruit and vegetables that have gone bad.

UPMC has reiterated that the average person is not at risk for mold. The patient, who had received a liver transplant, developed a rash that appeared to be fungal. “But we do know that our excellent physicians and staff have done everything possible to get to the bottom of this rare event as quickly as possible”.