Brittany Murphy, A "Flu-Like Illness" and Toxic Mold

[slayadragon]

In December 2009, the actress Brittany Murphy died of a "flu-like illness" in her home. Her husband, Simon Monjack, died of a separate "flu-like illness" in the same home five months later.

Today it was reported that health officials are reporting the presence of toxic mold in the home and examining whether the mold might have been a contributing factor.

This case struck me when it was first reported because of the "flu-like illness" comment. This is the same wording that was used during the Incline Village epidemic.

Erik Johnson, one of the members of the epidemic, says that toxic mold was a factor in that. Some people got CFS after that "flu," and some people died from it.

Following are some quotes.

Best, Lisa

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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Toronto Sun

Officials investigating mould in Murphy Case

Health officials are investigating the deaths of Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack over claims mould in their marital home may have contributed to the couple's demise.

Authorities at California's Department of Public Health are inspecting the Hollywood Hills mansion the pair shared before tragically dying within five months of each other.

The Clueless star's mother Sharon, who also lived at the property, is believed to have refused the Los Angeles County Coroner entrance to the house to investigate mould while looking into the actress' death in December 2009.

But Sharon has now agreed to a survey by Public Health officers following Monjack's shock passing in May, reports TMZ.com.

The couple, who married in 2007, both had pneumonia and anaemia listed as causes of death in their respective coroner's reports. It is alleged the mould could have affected their respiratory health.

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I was a patient of Dr. Cheney's before the "Yuppie Flu" went through and dropped a bunch of us in our tracks.

Guess what my complaint was?

"Chronic Fatigue."

I told Dr. Cheney, "I have an inexorably increasing reactivity to mold that gets progressively worse no matter where I live or how well I take care of myself.

This is what brought me to Dr. Cheney's office in Carnelian Bay in early 1984.

So I was reactive to mold prior to CFS.

Afterwards my reactivity was absolutely life threatening.

Prior to the weird flu, my problems would have been adequately described as inexplicable fatigue, but after the "?" happened, the sensation turned into life-destroying godawful drop-dead neurological living death illness that was nothing like fatigue.

My susceptibility to mold was prior, not later as is automatically assumed, just as it was for the Truckee teachers and various other CFSers I have questioned about this phenomenon.

I thought that it was more than coincidental that this same mold that has such an effect on me showed up so often in clusters of CFS - especially the one that started it all, at my old high school, Truckee HS.

Interesting how Dr. Shoemakers "24%" HLA genotype is suggestive of the "25% ME group.

-Erik (2006)

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What I told Dr. Cheney at the inception of CFS was that those of us who were already suffering these fatigue symptoms in the presence of mold seemed to have the absolute worst cases of the "Yuppie Flu.

"Yuppie Flu, "Tahoe Flu" "Mystery Illness" being the strange flu-like illness that went through Incline Village in 1985.

That flu-like illness is what was named "CFS.

I told Dr. Cheney and Dr. Peterson that until they figured out what CFS is, I was going to continue to stay away from that mold.

-Erik (2010)

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When the "Yuppie Flu" hit Incline Village, I was working part time as a snow shoveler saving houses that were collapsing from heavy winter snows at Tahoe.

"Sierra cement," we called it. There was so much snow that in order to save houses, we were using double-handed crosscut saws with one handle removed to saw the snow into huge blocks that we rolled off the roofs.

People would come up to our teams with tears in their eyes, pleading with us to save their house next, saying that they could hear the roof beams cracking under the weight of the snow. It was hard work and we did what we could, managing to keep a lot of houses from collapsing.

We were working 10-12 hours a day, and you couldn't do this kind of work unless you were in reasonably good shape.

One of our team got the same damned weird flu that I did. He just disappeared.

Somebody went to check on him and he was dead.

The official report was that he died of heart failure.

You'd think he would have died on the job if his heart was that weak. But no, he died at home, coughing his lungs out.

I asked, "What about the weird flu - he had that too. Doesn't that mean anything?"

I was told, "That flu doesn't kill, so that is ruled out. It didn't kill you, did it?"

Damn near!

And it was a bit of a shock when Dr. August Stemmer, the oral surgeon in the same building with Dr. Cheney and Dr. Peterson, suddenly dropped dead of heart failure while the epidemic was underway.

He was older, so this time it was blamed on his age.

All along, every time someone died who had the "flu-like illness, the fact that they died was used as "evidence because of the fixed notion that the illness creates survivors.

-Erik (2006)

 

[muffin]

Interesting

I noted that both Brittany and Simon Monjack "died from acute pneumonia and severe anemia"- The Los Angeles County Coroner has found. Monjack died FIVE MONTHS after his wife from the same things. Odd. Wonder what sort of "acute pneumonia" they both had.

It's a reach, but didn't they find XMRV in lungs? Could not find that article on the updated CDC/CFS site (may be out there still), but the CDC did have that study on the findings of XMRV in lung tissue. Makes one wonder what they both got into. Just odd that they died from the same thing - but FIVE MONTHS APART. The severe anemia part is also quite odd. I do hope they really look into what Monjack had, what type of pneumonia he had and why he had it five months after his wife's death, and what the anemia was caused from. Monjack did have heart issues, but, this did not play into his death. Just curious.
========================================================
Husband Died from Same Causes as Brittany MurphyBy Eunice Oh
Update Wednesday July 21, 2010 11:10 PM EDT
Originally posted Wednesday July 21, 2010 07:10 PM EDT
Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack
Mark Sullivan/WireImage http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20403901,00.html
Simon Monjack died from acute pneumonia and severe anemia the same two causes of wife Brittany Murphy's death the Los Angeles County Coroner has found.
The British screenwriter, 40, was found dead May 23 at the couple's Hollywood home, five months after Murphy, 32, died.

The coroner's office said pneumonia was the primary cause of Murphy's death but anemia and multiple drug intoxication were contributing factors.

Asked for the cause of death for Monjack, Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter told CNN, "Just like Brittany." Winter added that some prescription drugs were found in his system but not in lethal levels.
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What Causes Pneumonia? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pnu/pnu_causes.htmlMany different germs can cause pneumonia. These include different kinds of bacteria, viruses, and, less often, fungi.

Most of the time, the body filters germs out of the air that we breathe to protect the lungs from infection. (For more information, see the Diseases and Conditions Index How the Lungs Work article.) Sometimes, though, germs manage to enter the lungs and cause infections. This is more likely to occur when:

Your immune system is weak
A germ is very strong
Your body fails to filter germs out of the air that you breathe
Your mouth and airways are exposed to germs as you inhale air through your nose and mouth. Your immune system, the shape of your nose and throat, your ability to cough, and fine, hair-like structures called cilia (SIL-e-ah) help stop the germs from reaching your lungs.

For example, coughing is one way the body keeps germs from reaching the lungs. Some people may not be able to cough because, for example, theyve had a stroke or are sedated (given medicine to make them sleepy). This means germs may remain in the airways rather than being coughed out.

When germs do reach your lungs, your immune system goes into action. It sends many kinds of cells to attack the germs. These cells cause the alveoli (air sacs) to become red and inflamed and to fill up with fluid and pus. This causes the symptoms of pneumonia.

Germs That Can Cause Pneumonia
Bacteria
Bacteria are the most common cause of pneumonia in adults. Some people, especially the elderly and those who are disabled, may get bacterial pneumonia after having the flu or even a common cold.

Dozens of different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia can occur on its own or develop after you've had a cold or the flu. This type of pneumonia often affects one lobe, or area, of a lung. When this happens, the condition is called lobar pneumonia.

The most common cause of pneumonia in the United States is the bacterium Streptococcus (strep-to-KOK-us) pneumoniae, or pneumococcus (nu-mo-KOK-us).

Lobar Pneumonia


Figure A shows the location of the lungs and airways in the body. It also shows pneumonia thats affecting the lower lobe of the left lung. Figure B shows normal alveoli. Figure C shows infected alveoli.

Another type of bacterial pneumonia is called atypical pneumonia. Atypical pneumonia includes:

Legionella pneumophila. This is sometimes called Legionnaire's disease. This type of pneumonia has caused serious outbreaks. Outbreaks have been linked to exposure to cooling towers, whirlpool spas, and decorative fountains.
Mycoplasma pneumonia. This is a common type of pneumonia that usually affects people younger than 40. People who live or work in crowded places like schools, homeless shelters, and prisons are most likely to get it. Its usually mild and responds well to treatment with antibiotics. But, it can be very serious in some people. It may be associated with a skin rash and hemolysis (the breakdown of red blood cells).
Chlamydophila pneumoniae. This kind of pneumonia can occur all year and is often mild. The infection is most common in people 65 to 79 years of age.
Viruses
Respiratory viruses cause up to one-third of the pneumonia cases in the United States each year. These viruses are the most common cause of pneumonia in children younger than 5 years.

Most cases of viral pneumonia are mild. They get better in about 1 to 3 weeks without treatment. Some cases are more serious and may require treatment in a hospital.

If you have viral pneumonia, you run the risk of getting bacterial pneumonia also.

The flu virus is the most common cause of viral pneumonia in adults. Other viruses that cause pneumonia include respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, herpes simplex virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and more.

Fungi
Three types of fungi in the soil in some parts of the United States can cause pneumonia. These fungi are coccidioidomycosis (kok-sid-e-OY-do-mi-KO-sis) in Southern California and the desert Southwest, histoplasmosis (HIS-to-plaz-MO-sis) in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys, and cryptococcus (krip-to-KOK-us). Most people exposed to these fungi dont get sick, but some do and require treatment.

Serious fungal infections are most common in people who have weak immune systems as a result of long-term use of medicines to suppress their immune systems or having HIV/AIDS.

Pneumocystis jirovecii (nu-mo-SIS-tis ye-RO-VECH-e), formerly Pneumocystis carinii, is sometimes considered a fungal pneumonia. However, its not treated with the usual antifungal medicines. It usually affects people who:

Have HIV/AIDS or cancer
Have had an organ and/or bone marrow transplant
Take medicines that affect their immune systems
Other kinds of fungal infections also can lead to pneumonia.

 

[kerrilyn]

Her brother has said there is a family history of autonomic dysfunction and pots, I think he's posted on the dinet forums.

 

[slayadragon]

Another article. This one says, correctly:

>And you could have mould in your home for years without realising it. Mould can develop on hidden surfaces like the back of wallpaper and under carpets.

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The Daily Mail

Was it mould in their house that killed Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack and NOT drugs?
By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 6:40 PM on 25th July 2010

When actress Brittany Murphy collapsed and died in the shower of her Hollywood Hills home last December, an inquest ruled that the 32-year-old died from pneumonia complicated by her use of prescription drugs.

Barely five months later, Murphy's screenwriter husband Simon Monjack went into cardiac arrest and died of the same causes at the same house.

And now the investigation into the deaths of Clueless star Murphy and screenwriter Monjack is being handled by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health because it's believed mould may have killed them both.

Mould first came up early into the investigation but was considered 'not to be a contributing factor' and was dropped, according to celebrity website TMZ.

But with the revelation last week from the Los Angeles Coroners Office that Monjack died of pneumonia just like his wife, mould is now being seen as highly relevant to their deaths as it attacks the respiratory system.

Murphy's mother Sharon has allowed investigators to examine the house in West Hollywood Hills and Monjack's mother Linda will be flying from Europe to keep a close eye on the investigation.

Monjack's spokesman Mr Neal confirmed that the British screenwriter was told he needed heart bypass surgery but put it off because he was too busy.

'Simon needed a bypass,' the spokesman said. 'I was told he needed a bypass and I said to him: "Simon, you have so much going on, let’s keep you healthy".

'I said: "You want to be healthy, don’t you?" He said "Yes" but he said: "The bypass can wait’."'

When asked how serious Monjack’s condition was, Mr. Neal said: 'I don’t know how much of an emergency it was.

'The doctors would have made him get it immediately if he needed it, but Sharon [Murphy] confirmed with me he did need a bypass.

'They didn’t make it public because he had so much going on.'

Brittany Murphy and Simon Monjack are buried side-by-side at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.

Mould affects millions of people every year, with infants, elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions at much higher risk to illness as a result of exposure.

The symptoms of mould poisoning range from a rash and cold and flu-like effects to neurological damage and even death.

And you could have mould in your home for years without realising it. Mould can develop on hidden surfaces like the back of wallpaper and under carpets.

The couple's house was previously owned by Britney Spears.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...OT-drugs.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0uic5tWgY