You are here:
THE CHALLENGE OF MOLDS FOR THE U.S. ARMY
Citation:
Vesper, S J. THE CHALLENGE OF MOLDS FOR THE U.S. ARMY. Presented at 7th Annual Air Force Health Protection Conference, Albuquerque, NM, August 6-12, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To understand children's risks from exposure to molds in their environment and to explore risk management options for mitigating those risks.
Description:
The US Army and all armies have been interested in molds since there were armies. The most obvious interest was human infections by molds like trench foot. Then there were losses of military animals and contamination of their fodder, most notably the Soviet loss of thousands of horses in the late 1930's, as Russia prepared for war. Molds destroy human food supplies also. As Napoleon said "armies march on their stomachs." Of course, military equipment was destroyed by molds. In the tropics, tents and clothing would disappear under relentless mold attack. Armies have conquered many of these challenges from mold. Today, the US Army faces a new challenge from molds found in its buildings and family housing.