Tragedy of girl, 14, infected by mould spores she inhaled
A GIRL of 14 died after she caught a ‘one in a million’ fungal infection by breathing in mould spores.
The rare condition killed Jade Owens within three weeks by attacking her throat and passageways to her lungs.
Her family does not know where she came into contact with the mould but her mother suspects it could have been during her outdoor hobbies such as horse riding.
Initially Jade was ill with a suspected chest infection and had tests when it failed to clear up. The teenager was found to be suffering from a serious complication of previously undiagnosed type 1 diabetes.
She seemed to be recovering and was in good spirits, but then started coughing up blood and died minutes later.
Tests later revealed Jade had mucormycosis, a fungal infection usually caused by breathing in mould spores. It can affect just 1.7 people per million in the population, according to a US study.
The infection targets those with a weakened immune system and Jade was already run down by the diabetes. Her mother Louise Owens, a 35-year- old beautician from Stockport, Greater Manchester, said: ‘I’m heartbroken. We had no idea she even had diabetes. No-one else in the family has it so we had no idea what to look out for.’ Jade became ill on May 20 and was given antibiotics by her GP for what seemed a minor chest infection. But the next day, her grandmother Charleen Owens, a nurse, advised going to casualty as her breathing was rapid and she was discoloured.
The teenager was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, where a finger-prick test found she was in severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
This is a complication of diabetes when the body produces too much ketone, turning the blood acidic. It develops when the body cannot produce enough insulin, sometimes due to an infection, and leads to the breakdown of tissue.
Jade was moved to Manchester Children’s Hospital on May
‘I miss her every single day’
22 but a scan revealed she had fluid on her lungs. She was placed in an induced coma for five days and treated with antibiotics and insulin.
This seemed to work and Jade awoke on May 27 saying: ‘I’m starving, can I have a McDonald’s?’ Miss Owens said her daughter still had fluid on her lungs but doctors planned to drain the excess before Jade died suddenly on June 11.
The family has been told by officials the fungus is the likely cause of death but are waiting for a coroner’s final report.
Miss Owens wants to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, an inherited and potentially fatal condition which can go undiagnosed, saying: ‘I miss her every single day.
‘I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what we have.’