Notes from the field: Use of unvalidated urine mycotoxin tests for the clinical diagnosis of illness--United States, 2014.

Abstract

In February 2014, CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health received a request for a health hazard evaluation from a union representative in an office building. A female employee reported the onset of symptoms involving multiple organ systems upon returning to work after a prolonged absence. The employee searched the Internet for descriptions of symptoms matching hers, found a laboratory offering "toxic mold testing" direct to consumers, and submitted a urine sample, despite the absence of musty odors and signs of fungal growth in her office. The laboratory reported "positive" concentrations of two mycotoxins: ochratoxin at 2.8 parts per billion (ppb) and tricothecenes at 0.4 ppb. The laboratory cutoff for "positive" was ≥2.0 ppb for ochratoxin and ≥0.2 ppb for tricothecenes. The interpretation accompanying the laboratory report said the results "revealed that you have an unusual level of that mycotoxin(s) present in your body."