Environmental surveillance of filamentous fungi in three tertiary care hospitals in Greece

Panagopoulou, Paraskevi; Filioti, Joanna; Πετρίκκος, Γεώργιος; Giakouppi, P.; Anatoliotaki, Maria; Farmaki, Evangelia; Kanta, Alexandra; Apostolakou, H.; Avlami, A.; Samonis, George; Roilides, Emmanuel

doi:10.1053/jhin.2002.1298

Cited by 133 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Aspergilosis is related with different syndromes that can be manifest as allergic reactions or as invasive forms, otomycosis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis and skin infections, among others (Wanke et al, 2000). The genus Aspergillus spp., was reported by Panagopoulou et al (2002) with a higher frequency than the observed in this study. When evaluating three hospitals in Greece for the presence of airborne fungi, the authors recorded the presence of this genus in 70.55% of their samples.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

Airborne fungi in an intensive care unit

et al. 2017

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The presence of airborne fungi in Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) is associated with increased nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was the isolation and identification of airborne fungi presented in an ICU from the University Hospital of Pelotas -RS, with the attempt to know the place's environmental microbiota. 40 Petri plates with Sabouraud Dextrose Agar were exposed to an environment of an ICU, where samples were collected in strategic places during morning and afternoon periods for ten days. Seven fungi genera were identified: Penicillium spp. (15.18%), genus with the higher frequency, followed by Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Paecelomyces spp., Curvularia spp., Alternaria spp., Zygomycetes and sterile mycelium. The most predominant fungi genus were Aspergillus spp. (13.92%) in the morning and Cladosporium spp. (13.92%) in the afternoon. Due to their involvement in different diseases, the identified fungi genera can be classified as potential pathogens of inpatients. These results reinforce the need of monitoring the environmental microorganisms with high frequency and efficiently in health institutions.Keywords: hospital, ICU, air quality, infection. Fungos anemófilos em uma unidade de terapia intensiva ResumoA presença de fungos anemófilos nas UTIs está associada com o aumento de infecções nosocomiais. O objetivo deste estudo foi isolar e identificar quais os principais fungos anemófilos presentes em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) de um Hospital Universitário de Pelotas -RS, na tentativa de conhecer a microbiota ambiental do local. Através de 40 placas de Petri com Agar Sabouraud dextrose expostas no ambiente de UTI foram coletadas amostras por exposição em locais estratégicos durante períodos da manhã e tarde por dez dias. Sete gêneros fúngicos foram identificados: Penicillium spp. (15,18%), o gênero de maior frequência, seguido de Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Paecelomyces spp., Curvularia spp., Alternaria spp., além de Zigomicetos e micélios estéreis. Houve predomínio de Aspergillus spp. (13,92%) pela manhã e Cladosporium spp. (13,92%) a tarde. Por estarem envolvidos em diferentes enfermidades, os gêneros identificados podem ser classificados como patógenos em potencial aos pacientes internados. Estes resultados reforçam a necessidade de um monitoramento dos micro-organismos ambientais com maior freqüência e eficiência nas instituições de saúde.Palavras-chave: hospital, UTI, qualidade do ar, infecção.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 65%

Airborne fungi in an intensive care unit

et al. 2017

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“…and Rhizopus, respectively. In addition, the most frequent species of fungal bioaerosols, identified by Panagopoulou et al (20) among fungal genera, was Aspergillus spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Evaluation of Bioaerosols in Five Educational Hospitals Wards Air in Hamedan, During 2011-2012

Hoseinzadeh

Samarghandie

Ghiasian

et al. 2013

Jundishapur J Microbiol

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Background: Some human diseases such as tuberculosis, Legionnaires' disease and different forms of bacterial pneumonia, coccidioidomycosis, influenza, measles, and gastrointestinal illnesses are the result of exposure to bioaerosols. In addition, they are associated with some noninfectious airway diseases, such as allergies and asthma. Objectives: In the education hospitals of Hamedan University of medical sciences, there were no previous qualitative and quantitative studies of bioaerosols in the air of wards, so in this study the quality and quantity of bioaerosols in hospital ward's air was investigated to establish a reference for future studies or measures. Materials and Methods:In this cross sectional research, 30 wards in five educational hospitals of Hamadan city were studied. More than 180 air samples were collected from the hospitals. The samples were transferred to blood agar and Sabouraud medium and cultivated immediately. Type and number of colonies were determined in the laboratory. Bioaerosol concentrations were calculated in terms of cfu/ m 3 . After bioaerosols isolation, the isolates were identified by morphology of colony, Gram staining and by standard biochemical tests as required for bacterial or fungal bioaerosols. The SPSS software was used for data management. ANOVA and t-test statistical analyses were also used. Results:As the results demonstrated, highest and lowest averages of bioaerosol density were obtained from Shahid Beheshti and Fatemieh Hospitals (36.18 cfu/m 3 Vs. 24.03 cfu/m 3 ), respectively. Highest and lowest concentrations of bioaerosols were found in Women1 and operating room wards of Fatemiyeh Hospital, respectively (54.4cfu/m 3 VS. 13.3cfu/m 3 ). It appears that there had been no significant correlation between concentration of bioaerosols in the hospitals and available guideline values (P = 0.3). The highest fungal populations were Penicelium spp. (32.06%), Cladosporium spp. (20.5%), Aspergillus fumigatus (14.61%) and A. niger (7.43%), respectively. The highest bacterial population was coagulase-negative staphylococci (32.49%), Bacillus spp. (14.74%), Micrococcus spp. (13.68%) and Staphylococcus aureus (11.34%), respectively. Conclusions: Quantitative bioaerosols concentration in the air of some hospitals was more than the available guideline i.e. 30 cfu/m 3 . Bioaerosol density of all surveyed hospitals can relate to patients presence in wards and their visitors, incorrect ventilation, and probably inefficient disinfection. Most surveyed hospitals have no air treatment systems thus to reduce bioaerosol concentration, standard ventilation systems should designed and utilized.

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“…Moreover, Panagopoulou et al reported on a study on air contamination of three hospitals in Greece. It was found that in terms of fungi, the greatest number of detected fungi was related to the Aspergillus genus (34). A study of Awosika et al revealed that the maximum of the study of fungal and bacteria concentrations were Aspergillus, Penicillium and Staphylococcus, respectively (35).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of type and density of bio-aerosols in air samples from educational hospital wards of Kerman city, 2014

Malakootian

Gharghani

2016

Environ Health Eng Manag

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Background: Bio-aerosols in the air of hospital wards have an important role in the development of infections. It is important to make quantitative and qualitative estimations of microorganisms in the air of these wards as an index for environmental hygiene applicable to different hospital wards. The aim of the study was to investigate degrees of diversity and density of bio-aerosols in the education hospitals of Kerman city. Methods: This study applied a descriptive-cross-sectional methodology in the second half of 2014 in the education hospitals of Kerman city, with bed capacity of over 300. As many as 200 samples were collected from the air in different wards of each hospital using the standard method of the National Occupational Health and Safety Institute. Following collection, samples were placed in an incubator for 48 hours and then bio-aerosol detections were made for and resulting data reported as colonies/m 3 . Results:Results indicated that maximum and minimum degrees of bacterial density were observed in operation rooms and in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Shafa hospital. Furthermore, comparison showed that the operating room at Afzalipour hospital had the lowest level of fungal contamination, while ICU at Bahonar hospital had the highest level of fungal contamination. The emitted fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium along with the bacteria, staphylococci and Acinetobacter had greater frequencies. The means of bacterial density and fungal density were not equal across the studied hospitals and significant statistical, difference was observed between means of bacterial and fungal density (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Amounts of bacterial and fungal density were greater than those proposed in the American Industrial Health State Conference in 73.3% of the wards in the educational hospitals of Kerman city sampled in this study. Therefore it is suggested that implementation of some, necessary measures for continuous monitoring, promotion of hygienic disinfection standards, and ventilation systems are taken more seriously by stipulating regulations to control this important issue in the country's hospitals.

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Environmental surveillance of filamentous fungi in three tertiary care hospitals in Greece

Cited by 133 publications

References 29 publications

Airborne fungi in an intensive care unit

Airborne fungi in an intensive care unit

Evaluation of Bioaerosols in Five Educational Hospitals Wards Air in Hamedan, During 2011-2012

Investigation of type and density of bio-aerosols in air samples from educational hospital wards of Kerman city, 2014

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