Branislav wrote:
I live in Belgrade, Serbia.
Until 2007 the town was pristine in terms of really bad mycotoxins. Belgrade is still VERY GOOD in terms of toxic mold GROWTH. You will not find any Stachy growing here. I haven't seen any toxic mold here in residential buildings and I have seen many of them.
Unfortunately, as of March 2007 certain objects (especially newly erected buildings) emit toxins that I am now 100% sure are trichothecene mycotoxins that probably originate from Stachybotrys.
The reason why these new buildings emit Stachy toxins is because they are made with the cement that is manufactured by using "alternative fuels". This is an euphemism for waste products that are burnt in cement kilns. These waste materials include old furniture, sawdust and sewage materials which all can be infected with Stachy and its toxins, so it's no wonder that trichothecene toxins end up in the finished product, i.e. cement. We can all thank for this practice to the greedy CEOs from cement companies who don't give a damn about health of ordinary people.
Fortunately, there are not many of these new buildings in Belgrade, and I hope I will be able to raise an awareness to stop this outrageous and utterly criminal practice of burning waste materials in cement kilns.
In other words, the mycotoxin contamination that exists here is 100% due to cross-contamination, not due to the "in-house" mold growth. Surviving the toxins from cross-contaminated objects is EXTREMELY diffucult for a mycotoxin-sensitive person. If one cannot perceive the contaminations right away, he wouldn't stand a chance. And yes, you are right, I have a whole slew of techniques that help me decontaminate from occasional cross-contaminations. That is very advanced science of mycotoxin avoidance and I'm not sure if we can talk about that here.
But, for a person who is not terribly sensitized to mycotoxins, Belgrade would be Heaven because there is no new toxic mold growing here AT ALL.
Mold plumes that shift through the town which Erik talks about are non-existent here. There are some mycotoxin plumes, but they originate from the afore-mentioned newly made buildings with the contaminated cement and the way how these plumes "behave" is entirely predictable.
There is not much (if any?) _toxic_ mold that _grows_ in buildings in Belgrade. I suppose there are several reasons for this.
First, during the socialist era (until 1990) all buildings were built from very traditional materials such as concrete. Drywall and similar materials that support the growth of Stachy were not used. Drywall is only a recent introduction. All older houses were built from brick and cement, also without any crappy materials.
Second, floodings are extremely rare because the town is literally located on several hills. So even if it rains, rain just flows into the two rivers (The Sava and Danube), and floodings on the scale that one sees in the US are not likely to happen.
Also, most people in Belgade live in multi-storey buildings, and if someone's pipe leaks, that will become immediately evident to all those people on the floors below. And since people are afraid that water will damage the ceiling or walls, the leaks are usually fixed in the matter of days. Not months.
As for chronic fatigue illness, it is virtually unknown here. There are
certainly no doctors that specialize in it. I don't think there are many people that suffer from the real chronic fatigue here (I don't consider myself CFS-er either; I'm more a mycotoxin sensitive person). The same goes for MCS. There is even no proper translation for MCS. If it is true that MCS is often caused by exposure to mycotoxins, the apparent complete absence of real MCS in Serbia is indicative of almost complete absence of toxic mold (or at least it was so until
2007).
All that said, I cannot recommend Belgrade for anyone who is sensitive to Stachy mycotoxins because there is a very serious cross-contamination issue with truly bad sort of mycotoxins of which I spoke in the previous message.
I suppose there are still many parts of Belgrade which are pristine in terms of mycotoxins, but that might change. For example, this morning a new construction site has been opened some 100 meters from my building and the wind is bringing really bad mycotoxins. If this doesn't stop soon I will be forced to move.
Considering what has been said about the miserable state of many buildings and whole areas in the US and Canada regarding toxic mold, I don't see why you shouldn't give Belgrade a try.
As long as you keep away from new construction sites you should be fine (if toxic mold is indeed the most important cause of your CFS). If you decide to come to visit, I would be happy to show you around the town and make sure that you stay at a mycotoxin-free area and hotel.
As for the apparent absence of the chronic fatigue syndrome here, I suppose it's due to the same reason as the absence of MCS - no toxic mold growth equals no chronic fatigue!
Here's a good photo gallery of Belgrade (though, it features mostly the down town which has old buildings; there's also New Belgrade which I find particularly free of all kinds of pollution)
www.pbase.com/vmarinkovic/belgradeand this is the site for Expats in Serbia:
www.expat.rsyou might join their forum and ask what a chronic fatigue patient can expect in Belgrade.
The cement contamination is particularly menacing and disturbing because it's a construction material that is used pretty much everywhere and for everything. It is really important to put a stop to its production with contaminated waste materials. The big question is - how to do that? I don't think it's only problematic here, more likely than not it's the same thing in other countries that burn waste fuels in cement kilns.
Also, it's entirely possible that sometimes you don't feel fine in a "good" location because you bring contaminated belongings with yourself. Contaminated clothes, suitcases and even personal documents can render even the most pristine pristine place completely uninhabitable for a mold sensitive person. This is very important to keep in mind.
health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CFS_CFIDS_ME/message/6780?l=1