Characterizing the fungal and bacterial microflora and concentrations in fitness centres

Abstract

Fitness centres are special places where conditions for microbiological proliferation should be considered. Moisture due to human perspiration and water condensation as a result of human physical activities are prevalent in this type of buildings. Exposure to microbial contaminants is clinically associated with respiratory disorders and people who work out in polluted environments would be susceptible to contaminants. This work studied the indoor air contamination in three gymnasiums in Lisbon. The sampling was performed at two periods: at the opening (morning) and closing (night) of the three gymnasiums. The airborne bacterial and fungal populations were sampled by impaction directly onto Tryptic Soy Agar (for bacteria) and Malt Extract Agar (for fungi) plates, using a Merck MAS-100 air sampler. Higher bacterial concentrations were found at night as compared to the morning but the same behaviour was not found for fungal concentrations. Gram-negative catalase positive cocci were the dominant bacteria in indoor air samples of the studied gymnasiums. In this study, 21 genera/species of fungal colonies were identified. Chrysosporium sp., Chrysonilia sp., Neoscytalidium hialinum, Sepedonium sp. and Penicillium sp. were the most prevalent species identified in the morning, while Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., Chrysosporium sp., Acremonium sp. and Chrysonilia sp. were more prevalent at night. A well-designed sanitation and maintenance program for gymnasiums is needed to ensure healthier space for indoor physical activity.

Analysis of surfaces for characterization of fungal burden – Does it matter?

“…However, in most of the studies where environmental sampling is achieved only through air sampling, data regarding fungal burden are probably underestimated. The percentage of sampling sites presenting different species in the surfaces than the ones identified in the air (64.2%), corroborates importance of surface analysis to complement mycological air characterization [9,[12][13][14][15]32]. Fungal burden differences both in the air and surfaces could be explained by differences in fungal spores dispersion, which varies according to the fungal characteristics and environmental variables [7,9,33,34].…”

“…It may also be used to evaluate efficacy of surface cleaning and disinfection procedures. The number of studies where fungal contamination in workplaces has been characterized both in the air and in the surface samples is very limited [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. In fact, in most of the studies on environmental fungal assessment, the results have been achieved only by air sampling.…”

Microbial diversity of bioaerosol inside sports facilities and antibiotic resistance of isolated Staphylococcus spp.

“…Higher level of culturable bacterial aerosols were obtained by Brągoszewska et al (2016) in classrooms (from 2500 to 3000 CFU m -3 ). Lower concentrations were noted by Ramos et al (2015b) in fitness centers (824 CFU m -3 ) and by Goung et al (2015) at indoor golf courses (383.1 CFU m -3 ). Our results indicated also that the concentration of bacterial bioaerosol increased when the number of users was higher.…”

“…The indoor microbiome is a complex system that varies according to the activities being performed, human flow, ventilation systems and physical parameters, such as temperature and humidity (Ramos et al 2015b).…”

“…A proper air change rate is vital in controlling microbial growth in interior spaces. Specific conditions in fitness centers such as high moisture due to intense sweat discharge of the users, resuspension of dust from the ground due to intense physical activities and regular contact between the users and surfaces (exercise instruments, floor mats, handrails) promote microbial growth (Ramos et al 2015b). Airborne bacteria and fungi attached to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) significantly affect human health (Du et al 2018).…”