Seattle Children’s recently found more mold in its operating rooms, self-reporting the unsettling findings to the Washington State Department of Health in early May.

It appears unclear if this is the same type of mold that has infected pediatric surgical patients in the past. But what is unfortunately clear is that the issue of providing safe air in spaces where fragile children are particularly vulnerable is still an unresolved issue at the leading pediatric hospitals in state and region.

Mold such as the aspergillus found previously in these ORs can be found all around us. However, in an operating room it can be much more dangerous, and even deadly. Because surgeons must open the patient’s body (creating a surgical site), the air must be free of pathogens such as aspergillus so that the site is not infected.

When such infections do occur, the results can be devastating for patients and their families. In addition, there is an almost incalculable ripple effect, as closed ORs force other patients in need of surgery to either have surgery performed elsewhere (often at nearby hospital facilities less equipped to handle pediatric patients) or have their surgeries delayed.

You can read more about the recent mold in operating rooms at Seattle Children’s Hospital here: State says Aspergillus mold discovered again at Seattle Children’s Hospital