Inquest results link Awaab Ishak’s death to mould in apartment

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07th Nov, 2022. 09:28 pm
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Awaab Ishak died in December 2020, shortly after his second birthday.
Pathologist: Awaab’s airways were swelled and clogged, his blood and lungs showed signs of fungus.
His father Faisal Abdullah called Rochdale Boroughwide Housing several times regarding the property.

An inquest heard that a two-year-old boy’s death was directly related to his exposure to mould in an apartment.

In December 2020, not long after his second birthday, Awaab Ishak passed away.

His father Faisal Abdullah called Rochdale Boroughwide Housing several times regarding the property, according to the Rochdale Coroners’ Court.

Awaab’s throat was so enlarged, the pathologist testified to the court, that it would be difficult for him to breathe.

As this evidence was being given, Mr. Abdullah fled the courtroom.

Awaab’s airways, including his windpipe and other airways, were swelled and clogged, according to Dr. Lumb, who performed the post-mortem.

His blood and lungs both showed signs of fungus.

According to Dr. Lumb, Awaab had serious inflammation in his lungs, which is extremely unusual in a young person.

He claimed that the boy’s airways tightening had an allergic component, which clearly suggested that fungi were to blame for the severe inflammation.

The most likely cause of the inflammation, he suggested, was exposure to fungi.

This implied, according to Dr. Lumb, that Awaab’s death was connected to earlier contact with fungi.

Part of the cause of death was given as “environmental mould pollution”.

Professor Malcolm Richardson, a specialist in moulds and fungus and their impact on health, spoke earlier at the inquiry.

Ten days after Awaab’s death, he looked around the family’s apartment.

In the bathroom and kitchen, Professor Richardson discovered “extensive mould” on the walls and ceilings.

Mold was also present in a bedroom cabinet.

According to Prof. Richardson, samples he collected demonstrated a considerable presence of fungi that can lead to an allergic reaction.

He was unable to pinpoint the exact moment the mould would have begun to grow, but he did tell the coroner Joanne Kearsley that the apartment would have been poisoned “for some substantial period.”

Professor Richardson was asked by the coroner to address the effect that damp and mould have on housing in the UK, particularly in social housing and privately leased property.

He said: “The situation is still very dire. There are numerous examples of bad repair.”

The investigation goes on.

Inquest results link Awaab Ishak’s death to mould in apartment

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