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[Michele Monteil] We have found that in
fact when we have Sahara dust cover, there is an increase in the number
of asthmatic children coming to the accident and emergency departments
with worsened asthma a day after the events.
Ginger Garrison’s investigation into sea fan disease was also focusing
on Saharan dust. She and some of her colleagues had begun to suspect
that the large range of the illness was a clue that they should look for
some kind of infectious agent that could be carried in the air. Perhaps
the dust was carrying an unidentified but harmful pathogen. As she was
mastering the fine art of dust collection an American microbiologist
made an announcement that convinced Garrison that she was on the right
path. He had fingered a soil fungus called Aspergillus as a likely
culprit in sea fan disease. Garrison immediately contacted him and asked
if he would analyze her samples. He agreed, and Garrison, anticipating a
lengthy investigation, shipped her first batch for testing.
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