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NEW YORK — <\/span>A first-of-its-kind U.S. study suggests invasive mold infections may be an underappreciated \u2014 and potentially deadly \u2014 threat.<\/p>\n The researchers detected about 450 cases in Atlanta-area hospitals over five years. About a third of the patients died in the hospital.<\/p>\n The findings, published this week<\/a> by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come from an attempt to better gauge how common these kinds of illnesses are. The government does not require doctors to report the illnesses.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s kind of the first time we’ve had an estimate like this,” said the CDC’s Dr. Jeremy Gold, the study’s senior author.<\/p>\n And it’s important to understand it now, because the problem may grow in the future, he added. Mold exposure is a recurring problem in the wake of hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters influenced by climate change, researchers have found.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree that the frequency of fungal infections will likely increase with climate change,\u201d said Dr. Jeffrey Jenks, an infectious disease researcher at Duke University.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there\u2019s a growing population of older people who are more susceptible to such illnesses, Gold said.<\/p>\n Invasive mold diseases are rare infections caused by certain species. Most people who get infected inhale mold spores, but they can also enter the body through cuts or wounds or from contaminated medical equipment.<\/p>\n The spores don’t cause health problems for most people, but they can be life-threatening to some, including the elderly, cancer patients and others with weakened immune systems.<\/p>\n