Seattle Children's Hospital shuts down main operating rooms amid mold investigation

SEATTLE -- State and county health departments are investigating the latest instance of mold at Seattle Children's Hospital.

The hospital has shut down all of its main operating rooms after air tests found Aspergillus mold in three of its 14 operating rooms and two procedural areas. It's the same mold that killed a child earlier this year and infected five patients.

The hospital says a third-party industrial hygienist will inspect the entire air handling unit, including all filters. Crews will also clean and sanitize the air handler and deep clean all of the main operating rooms and core rooms. The operating rooms are expected to be closed for at least 5 days.

The King County Department of Health says one patient was infected with the latest incident. The first incident was reported in June 2018 and the second incident was reported in May.

Dionna J'orgensen says her grandson was exposed to aspergillus in April at Seattle Children's. Fortunately, he was not infected, but J'orgensen says she refuses to take him back to the hospital.

"To the brain surgeon yes, that man is exemplary. As for surgeries up there, no, I can only hope that if has a second decompression, that the surgeon works somewhere else. I will not consent to surgery there. I have lost all trust," said J'orgensen.

Aspergillus isn't a dangerous type of mold for most of us, but for children who are going through surgery, it can be deadly.