Mold in History

Some historians speculate today that a disease called ergot or ergotism (food poisoning caused by mold) overran the population of Europe for approximately 500 years. Most sources say that the fungus responsible for this long term epidemic belongs to the genus Claviceps and some say that species in the genus Fusarium are also responsible. These genera infected rye grain kernels both before and after the harvest and produced alkaloids (such as ergotamine).

Poor people in Europe at the time lived on rye bread and not a lot else and so these people were the most at risk for infection. Pregnant women miscarried their babies and even after they were born, children still died from this and those who lived suffered from different chronic illnesses, including mental disorders. The hallucinations and seizures that they suffered were often attributed to magic or possession or even in some cases as divine inspiration. When rye was replaced with wheat and potatoes, the epidemic began to subside.

It seems that rich and well to do households were never affected as much as lower income households. It is said that Ergot was the cause of the low birth and high death rates in Europe between the year 1250 and 1750 and also that Ergot planted the seeds of the Salem witch trials. Settlers of Massachusetts planted rye and it was a regular part of their diet and they experienced just as many hallucinations and seizures as the Europeans who ate it. Ergotism has been slowing the population growth of countries even as recently as 1945, when it was discovered to exist in Russia.

Mold is chronicled in the Bible as being an unclean substance and a building contaminated with it is unsafe to be in for any length of time. The rabbis of the time inspected homes and acted as health officials on a regular basis in ancient times and it was said that any building materials or clothing that had been contaminated with mold or mildew had to be disposed of in a place away from town designated for the disposal of such items. Clothing contaminated with mold was supposed to be burned. Homes infected were torn down, rebuilt, and watched closely to see if the infection returned and this is not very different from how we treat mold contaminated homes today.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
damage restoration companies and
mold removal companies across the united states.