Correlation between the prevalence of certain fungi and sick building syndrome.

Cooley, Jessica; Wong, Wing C.; Jumper, Cynthia; Straus, David C.

doi:10.1136/oem.55.9.579

Cited by 272 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, major questions remain regarding the representativeness of assessment protocols currently in use. In particular, most protocols involve a single sampling event on a single day (2,4,18,25,35). We monitored airborne fungal concentrations over a year in four office buildings using standardized protocols developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [the Building Assessment, Survey and Evaluation (BASE) Study] (36).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fungi prosper in conditions within the human comfort range, and certain fungi can also survive or even flourish at low (-5°C) or high (60°C) temperatures, limited water activities (0.70), low (pH 1) or high (pH 9) pH, and very low oxygen content (1). Fungal spores are abundant in outdoor air, and exposure to fungi and their metabolites occurs commonly in indoor environments such as offices, schools, and homes (2)(3)(4)(5)(6).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Populations and determinants of airborne fungi in large office buildings.

Chao

Schwartz

Milton

et al. 2002

Environ Health Perspect

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Bioaerosol concentrations in office environments and their roles in causing building-related symptoms have drawn much attention in recent years. Most bioaerosol studies have been cross-sectional. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the characteristics of airborne fungal populations and correlations with other environmental parameters in office environments. We investigated four office buildings in Boston, Massachusetts, during 1 year beginning May 1997, recruiting 21 offices with open workstations. We conducted intensive bioaerosol sampling every 6 weeks resulting in 10 sets of measurement events at each workstation, and recorded relative humidity, temperature, and CO2 concentrations continuously. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify groups of culturable fungal taxa that covaried in air. Four major groupings (PCA factors) were derived where the fungal taxa in the same groupings shared similar ecological requirements. Total airborne fungal concentrations varied significantly by season (highest in summer, lowest in winter) and were positively correlated with relative humidity and negatively related to CO2 concentrations. The first and second PCA factors had similar correlations with environmental variables compared with total fungi. The results of this study provide essential information on the variability within airborne fungal populations in office environments over time. These data also provide background against which cross-sectional data can be compared to facilitate interpretation. More studies are needed to correlate airborne fungi and occupants' health, controlling for seasonal effects and other important environmental factors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Populations and determinants of airborne fungi in large office buildings.

Chao

Schwartz

Milton

et al. 2002

Environ Health Perspect

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“…The onset of the Sick Building Syndrome is thought to be at least partially due to the exposure to the airborne biological agents (Walinder et al 2001;Cooley et al 1998;Teeuw et al 1994). Excessive mold growth in damp building has been associated with irritation, allergy, and infections among building occupants (Fung and Hughson 2003;Koskinen et al 1999;Dales et al 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Cut-Off Sizes and Collection Efficiencies of Portable Microbial Samplers

Yao

Mainelis

2006

Aerosol Science and Technology

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Traditional collection efficiency measurements often directly compare particle concentrations upstream and downstream of the sampler without considering the particle losses. Here, we developed a new approach which tests collection efficiencies of the sampler with and without agar collection plate loaded. This method thus allows estimating the effective collection efficiency, i.e., the fraction of incoming particles deposited onto the agar collection medium only.The experimental cut-off sizes, or d 50 , of the investigated samplers ranged from 1.2 µm for the RCS High Flow, 1.7 µm for the MAS-100, 2.1 µm for SAS Super 180, to 2.3 µm for MAT; for other three samplers they were close to or above 5 µm. In most cases the theoretical d 50 was lower than the experimental value, which was likely due to the dissipation of impactor jets and the influence of cross-flow in the multi-nozzle impactors. For most samplers, we observed a notable difference between the collection efficiency obtained by the traditional measurement method and the effective collection efficiency. In general, all samplers collected 10% or less of 0.5 µm particles onto the agar medium.This study indicates that the use of most of the tested bioaerosol samplers may result in a substantial underestimation of bacterial concentrations, especially of single bacterial cells with diameter 0.5-1.0 µm. On the other hand, most of the investigated samplers would be more efficient when collecting larger fungal spores.

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“…5 Determining the composition and concentration of airborne microorganisms in internal and/or external areas of critical hospital Monitoring of airborne fungus and yeast species in a hospital unit José Nelson Martins-Diniz, Rosangela Aparecida Moraes da Silva, Elaine Toscano Miranda e Maria José Soares Mendes-Giannini wards is considered as an extremely necessary measure. 1 Hospitals are environments that require great care in terms of the environmental monitoring of critical areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoramento de fungos anemófilos e de leveduras em unidade hospitalar

et al. 2005

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ObjectiveTo monitor and characterize airborne filamentous fungi and yeasts from abiotic and biotic sources within a hospital unit. Methods Collections were carried out on a monthly basis, at two different time periods, from the adult and pediatric intensive care units and surgical center of a hospital in Araraquara, Southeastern Brazil. Collection of airborne fungi was carried out using a simple-stage Andersen sample. The presence of yeasts was investigated in samples taken from the hands and oropharynx of staff members as well as from the surface of beds and doorknobs inside the critical areas. Results Thirty-two genera of airborne fungi and were recovered from the surgical center and 31 from the intensive care units. Genera most frequently isolated were Cladophialophora spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Chrysosporium spp. and Aspergillus spp. During the study period, a new unit was built in the hospital, which coincided with an increase in Cladophialophora spp., Aspergillus spp., and Fusarium spp. colony counts. Yeasts were found in 39.4% of samples obtained from healthcare staff (16.7% from interdigital spaces, 12.1% from nailbeds, and 10.6% from oropharynx) and in 44% of furniture samples, with a predominance of the Candida genus (C. albicans, C. guilliermondii, C. parapsilosis e C. lusitaniae), followed by Trichosporon spp. ConclusionsWe found a relatively high number of airborne fungi (potentially pathological) in special areas and expressive levels of yeasts in both biotic and abiotic samples. Microbiological and environmental monitoring should be conducted, especially in special areas which include immunocompromised patients, who are more susceptible to the exposure to environmental and staff-derived pathogens.

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Correlation between the prevalence of certain fungi and sick building syndrome.

Cited by 272 publications

References 24 publications

Populations and determinants of airborne fungi in large office buildings.

Populations and determinants of airborne fungi in large office buildings.

Investigation of Cut-Off Sizes and Collection Efficiencies of Portable Microbial Samplers

Monitoramento de fungos anemófilos e de leveduras em unidade hospitalar

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