Contribution of Visible Surface Mold to Airborne Fungal Concentration as Assessed by Digital Image Quantification

Abstract

The rapid monitoring of total fungi, including air and surface fungal profiling, is an important issue. Here, we applied air and surface sampling, combined with digital image quantification of surface mold spots, to evaluate the contribution of surface fungi to airborne fungal concentrations. Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and yeast often appeared in the air or on wall surfaces during sampling. The indoor/outdoor concentration ratios (I/O ratios) demonstrated that the airborne concentrations of commonly found fungal genera outdoors were higher than those indoors (median I/O ratio = 0.65–0.91), excluding those of Penicillium and yeast. Additionally, the surface density (fungal concentration/area) of individual fungi showed no significant correlation with the airborne concentration, excluding that of Geotrichum. However, if a higher surface ratio (>0.00031) of mold spots appeared in the total area of an indoor environment, then the concentrations of Aspergillus and Geotrichum in the air increased significantly. Our results demonstrated that the airborne concentration of indoor fungi is significantly correlated with the outdoor concentration. A higher density of surface fungi does not necessarily contribute to a high fungal concentration in the air. In contrast to fungal density, quantification of the surface fungal area is recommended to assess the risk of surface fungi propelling into the air.

Distribution and diversity of the fungal pollution in repositories of the provincial historical archive of Villa Clara, Cuba

“…This behavior was previously demonstrated in a study conducted in various home environments. 81 Furthermore, these findings agree with other earlier studies carried out in Cuban archives. 9,13,49 Regarding the species belonging to the Aspergillus genus, the QS values were extremely high and ranged from 0.9 to 1.0, indicating that practically the same species were isolated in both types of environments.…”

Airborne dermatophyte propagules concentration in cowsheds as an underestimated reservoir of potential zoonoses

“…Cowsheds buildings can present microbial load by means of direct dust settlement due to a complex combination of local environmental conditions, large crowding of animals and airflow when serving food, milking, hygienic procedures or the expulsion and return of cattle to and from pastures (Gnat et al, 2018; Łagowski et al, 2020). All parameters related to the indoor microclimate are consistent with those recorded for human environments (Marcu et al, 2021; Shelton et al, 2002; Stenson et al, 2019; Tseng et al, 2021), although it seems that the aerosol load with potentially pathogenic micro‐organisms for livestock is much higher. Moreover, these conidia or dermatophyte hyphae tend to proliferate from air to other organic compounds, such as food, milk, litter and dust, among others (Tseng et al, 2021; van Rhijn & Bromley, 2021).…”

“…All parameters related to the indoor microclimate are consistent with those recorded for human environments (Marcu et al, 2021; Shelton et al, 2002; Stenson et al, 2019; Tseng et al, 2021), although it seems that the aerosol load with potentially pathogenic micro‐organisms for livestock is much higher. Moreover, these conidia or dermatophyte hyphae tend to proliferate from air to other organic compounds, such as food, milk, litter and dust, among others (Tseng et al, 2021; van Rhijn & Bromley, 2021). However, the scientific data on this topic are sparse.…”

“…Traditional outdoor breeding methods with freely wandering and gathering animals, which are still predominant in Europe, could explain the acquisition of dermatophytes in the microclimate (Courtellemont et al, 2017; Gnat et al, 2018; Łagowski et al, 2021). Tseng et al (Tseng et al, 2021) revealed that high fungal concentrations in indoor air may resulted from an exogenous source of contamination. Taking into account that soil is defined as an important reservoir of dermatophytes, and animals move to pastures and back to cowsheds, can mechanically transfer fungal elements, which consequently float in the aerosol.…”

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“…A recent paper has applied image analysis with visual mould inspections to quantify mould growth in structures. 36 Visual inspections will likely remain a key factor in determining mould contamination of buildings for the foreseeable future.…”