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After handling plants grown in decomposable pots made of recycling paper, three women working in a big horticulture developed very painful inflammated efflorescences at the finger-tips, followed by scaling off the skin. The pots appeared to be very mouldy. Black masses of conidia of Stachybotrys chartarum and perithecia of Chaetomium globosum were identified on almost every pot. Apart from various other fungal genera, Trichoderma und Acremonium were frequently detected. Considering the observed symptoms, special attention was payed to the mycotoxin producing species St. chartarum. To evaluate the inhalative spore load, air sampling was performed. The detection of St. chartarum in the air was only possible with the spore trap (sampling of particles) but not with the Andersen sampler (detection of colony forming units). Without moving the pots, measurements yielded values of 30-100 St. chartarum conidia per m3 of air. The concentration of air-borne conidia increased drastically by handling the pots, thus attaining up to 7,500 conidia per m3 of air for St. chartarum only. The occurrence of St. chartarum in such amounts is alarming because of possible toxin production. In addition, the allergenic stress by fungal spores has to be emphasized. The results are discussed with regard to general medical-mycological aspects related to the degradation of environmentally-friendly decomposable materials.

Keratomycosis still represents a major problem in ophthalmology because of diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. This is caused by difficult clinical differentiation and problems in microbiological analysis due to pretreatment and lack of sample material in early stages of the infection.A 16-year-old female contact lens wearer suffered from a monocular central stromal opacification of the cornea. Analysis of the contact lens storage case liquid (CLCL) was based on investigation of the direct sample, Gram and Lactophenol staining and on specific cultures for aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria and fungi.The patient suffered from a mycotic keratitis caused by Acremonium kiliense. First microbiological results were obtained from the CLCL subsequently confirmed from aqueous and from cornea tissue after keratoplasty. Continuation of the systemic Itraconazol therapy resulted in cure and improvement of the visual acuity.Success factors for diagnosis and therapy are early detection of the causative agent in the cornea and/or in the contact lens storage case as well as diagnosis related intensive drug therapy and eventually surgical intervention.