A report on Penicillium in the intramural and extramural air of residential areas of Nagpur city (India)

Abstract

Prevalence of different species of Penicillium and their concentrations per cubic meter of air were evaluated with the use of Hi-Air sampler system Mark II (Hi-Media Laboratories Ltd., India) in the air of homes (bed-rooms) at four different sites in Nagpur. At each of these sites, air sampling was done fortnightly in triplicate for 2 years duration from June 2000 to May 2002. The sampling was also done in triplicate for the outdoor air in the vicinity of each home on the same day immediately after the indoor sampling was over. The mean concentration of Penicillium colony forming units at four different sites in the indoor air was 32, 46.9, 35 and 35.4 CFU/m 3 , respectively, whereas in the outdoor air at these same four sites, the mean concentration was 24, 28, 25 and 25.8 CFU/m 3 respectively. The Penicillium concentration in the indoor air was found to be higher in winter than in other seasons (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Concentration of Penicillium spp. in intramural environment was always higher than that in extramural environment. Statistically significant difference existed between intramural and extramural environments at all the sites, with maximum difference at a site, which is old crowded area of the city. During the 2-year's investigations, 11 species of Penicillium were isolated from the indoor air while nine species were isolated from the air outside the homes. The dominant species of Penicillium in indoor as well as outdoor air were P. citrinum (33.78 and 32.81%), P. oxalicum (19.70 and 22.60%), and P. chrysogenum (17.64 and 14.50%). The percentage of the Penicillium in the indoor air was 10.70 while it was 8.36 in outdoor air. Indoor air showed the presence of P. glaber and P. sclerotiorum, which were absent in the outdoor air.

A taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of the Penicillium sclerotiorum complex

“…Strains commonly originate from soil, and occasionally textiles, but are also isolated from house dust ( Vesper et al 2005 ), diseased grape fruit and stems ( De Lucca et al 2008 ), and as a potential endophyte of Coffea arabica berries ( Vega et al 2006 ). Air sampling revealed higher concentrations of P. sclerotiorum outdoors than in indoor environments in India ( Sawane & Saoji 2004 ).…”

Exposure to indoor fungi in different working environments: A comparative study

“…In India, indoor fungal concentrations as high as 431-690 CFU m -3 in different occupational indoor environments were reported by Jain (2000) and Sawane and Saoji (2004). However, Srikanth et al (2008) have reported fungal concentrations as high as 10 5 CFU m -2 on different indoor surfaces of India.…”

Aeromycoflora of Animal Rearing Houses of Bangalore, India

“…Adhikari [9] collect the total airborne fungal spores was 233-2985 CFU/m In India, indoor fungal concentrations are high in different occupational indoor environments as reported by Jain [18] and Sawane and Saoji [19]. This is of much alarming scenario as Penicillium cause penicilliosis, leading cerebral or pulmonary lesions [8].…”