The MSNBC article named two different fungi that doctors confirmed produced allergic reactions in the patient, and a third that they found in the instrument. They didn't actually say whether anything was identified inside the patient.

While the reed gets wet during playing, and for a cane reed it needs to be wet to perform correctly, the entire inside of an instrument is likely to to be pretty damp. Clarinetists sometimes get a "wet finger," nearly always appearing first on the third finger on the left hand, from the condensate that runs down to there during a long performance, although this should be unusual for non-professional performers. There are no "open ring" finger points on a saxophone, so the similar wetness there wouldn't be detected as easily, although occasionally one or the other of the little "octave shift" pads may "spit at you" a little.

Drying, as with alcohol, may stop the growth of most molds, but doesn't necessarily kill them; and drying the reed between uses doesn't do anything about what's elsewhere on the enormously larger internal surfaces of the instrument. The van I brought from Seattle to Kansas showed no signs of the typical "Seattle suntan" for three years in Kansas before a "freak" (for Kansas) spell of weather with a three-day fog occured. On the second day, when I went out to the truck all of the external black rubber on the truck was GREEN from the mold that survived until it got a proper moisture boost and burst forth in all it's west coast glory. Drying doesn't kill many fungi.

The entire inner surface of almost any instrument may get sufficiently damp to support mold growth every time the instrument is played, and your condensed breath probably contains sufficient nutrients for growth even on an "inert" surface. And some molds can grow quite nicely on plastics, wood, leather pads, cork seals, and other materials, some of which don't obviously supply nutrients for them. Worrying about infection/reaction only from the reed seems somewhat inadequate if an allergic reaction is a concern.

The infrequent reports of "moldy instruments" affecting performers' health suggest that this isn't a problem most people will need to worry a lot about. (Moldy performers may be the bigger problem?) Awareness that it can happen should be encouraged, and knowing what corrective actions are most likely to be most effective with least harm to the instruments seem worth discussion.

John