Cot mattresses and the sudden infant death syndrome

EDITOR,—P J Fleming and colleagues' editorial on the possibility of a relation between the fire retardants, biocides, and plasticisers in cot mattresses and sudden infant death should help medical professionals understand how the sudden infant death syndrome may be caused by gases generated from mattresses by micro-organisms1; arsine from wallpaper similarly caused deaths of infants a century ago.2

Scopulariopsis brevicaulis develops through warmth and perspiration …