Smoother walls healthier for lungs

In an experimental study using different types of wall materials, researchers from Sri Lanka found that smooth surfaces mean less opportunity for water to congregate on wall surfaces.

Adobe wall. Image credit: Luis Fernández García/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Countries close to the equator typically see average temperatures of around 20-30 degrees Celsius and air humidity of around 60-95 per cent — ideal conditions for indoor mould to grow. This then affects indoor air quality and health.

The health burden of mould has been well studied in Europe, with evidence that exposure is linked with a higher risk of asthma, wheezing and allergic reactions. In Europe, according to the WHO, the risk of asthma increases by around 30-50% if mould is present in a home. Children are most affected as their lungs and immune systems are still developing and cope less well with breathing in toxic substances.

But there is little data on the health burden of mould and dampness in developing countries. According to a 2014 report by the Global Asthma Network, the highest health burden of asthma — with around 20 per cent of 13-14-year-olds affected — is in the poorest regions of Central America and South-East Asia, although the authors admit that underreporting in African countries might skew the picture.

For their study, the Sri Lankan research team built a set of identical walls from materials commonly used to build homes in the tropics, including brick, cement blocks, mud bricks and Cabook – bricks made from laterite soil. They also used different plasters on some walls, and smeared the surfaces with buttermilk or potato starch solutions to trigger moss and mould to grow.

According to their results, the smooth, plastered surfaces were best for homes to stay dry. But the cost of plastering might prevent poor families from acting on this advice.

There are many unpainted buildings in tropical developing countries and such buildings are more prone to the problem.

Poor people often resort to chemicals to control mould growth in the home, but these can exacerbate respiratory diseases and are not a sustainable and safe prevention method.

In its report, the Global Asthma Network said that the incidence of respiratory diseases is increasing, especially among the youngest, and “the historical view of asthma being a disease of high-income countries no longer holds”. The highest mortality rates from asthma were recorded in Thailand, Mauritius, Fiji, the Philippines and South Africa. (SciDev.Net)

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