Settleable Dust and Bioburden in Portuguese Dwellings

Viegas, Carla; Dias, Marta; Almeida, Beatriz; Vicente, Estela D.; Caetano, Liliana Aranha; Carolino, Elisabete; Alves, Célia

doi:10.3390/microorganisms8111799

Cited by 12 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…The indoor-to-outdoor bioaerosol concentration ratio (I/O) is used to estimate emissions sources of bioaerosol [79]. For situations in which I/O > 1.0, indoor air is considered the main source of indoor bioaerosols, and when I/O < 1.0, outdoor air is considered the main source of indoor bioaerosols.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Contamination in Health Care Centers: Differences between Urban and Rural Settings

et al. 2021

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This study aims to assess the airborne bioburden of rural and urban Portuguese Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) using active and passive sampling methods and identify the potential differences in airborne microbiota between both environments. The highest total aerobic mesophilic bacterial load in indoor air were found in the Vaccination Room (448 CFU.m−3) in the Rural PHCC and in the Waiting Room (420 CFU.m−3) for Urban PHCC. The total coliforms contamination level in indoor air was detected only in the Cleaning Supplies Room (4 CFU.m−3) in the Urban PHCC. The most frequent bacteria genera identified was Micrococcus (21% Rural PHCC; 31% Urban PHCC). The surface samples showed a highest total aerobic mesophilic bacterial contamination in the Treatment Room (86 × 103 CFU.m−2) from the Rural PHCC and in the Front Office (200 × 103 CFU.m−2) from the Urban PHCC. The electrostatic dust cloth (EDC) samples showed a highest bacterial load in the Urban PHCC. Total aerobic mesophilic bacterial load in settled dust and in the Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) filter samples in the Urban PHCC (8 CFU.g−1 and 6 × 103 CFU.m−2) presented higher values compared with the Rural PHCC (1 CFU.g−1 and 2.5 × 103 CFU.m−2). Urban PHCC presented higher bacterial airborne contamination compared with the Rural PHCC for the majority of sampling sites, and when compared with the indoor air quality (IAQ) Portuguese legislation it was the Rural PHCC in two sampling places who did not comply with the established criteria.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Contamination in Health Care Centers: Differences between Urban and Rural Settings

et al. 2021

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“…The most prevalent fungal genera found in this indoor environment are Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria and Aspergillus [1,2]. In fact, in Portuguese dwellings, located in the districts of Lisbon and Aveiro, Penicillium and Aspergillus have been also reported as the dominant fungi [3,4]. Lately, exposure to fungal contamination has gained increasing importance, since correlations with respiratory diseases and atopic dermatitis have been often observed [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, active air sampling is limited by short sampling periods (minutes to hours), representing only a snapshot of bioburden exposure [18]. Electrostatic dust collectors (EDCs) constitute a simple and cost-effective passive sampling method able to characterize bioburden present in settleable dust [3,4,[19][20][21][22][23]. Given their simplicity, low cost, independence from noisy pumps and power supply, possibility of allowing simultaneous sampling in multiple locations, and ability to provide indications of exposure over longer time frames, passive samplers are regarded as a good alternative in indoor air quality and exposure assessment studies [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bioburden assessment with EDCs has been previously carried out in occupational environments, such as schools [3], health care centers [26] and swine farms [27], as well as in residential settings of Portuguese coastal cities [3,4]. However, outdoor fungi and bacteria are mainly affected by local climate conditions [28], while in indoor environments different factors, such as the thermal comfort, dwelling characteristics and occupant activities, may play a key role in bioburden [3,4,29,30]. Thus, results of a given region may not be generalizable to other target populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Loading Rates of Dust and Bioburden in Dwellings in an Inland City of Southern Europe

et al. 2021

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Sampling campaigns indoors have shown that occupants exposed to contaminated air generally exhibit diverse health outcomes. This study intends to assess the deposition rates of total settleable dust and bioburden in the indoor air of dwellings onto quartz fiber filters and electrostatic dust collectors (EDCs), respectively. EDC extracts were inoculated onto malt extract agar (MEA) and dichloran glycerol (DG18) agar-based media used for fungal contamination characterization, while tryptic soy agar (TSA) was applied for total bacteria assessment, and violet red bile agar (VRBA) for Gram-negative bacteria. Azole-resistance screening and molecular detection by qPCR was also performed. Dust loading rates ranged from 0.111 to 3.52, averaging 0.675 μg cm−2 day−1. Bacterial counts ranged from undetectable to 16.3 colony-forming units (CFU) m−2 day−1 and to 2.95 CFU m−2 day−1 in TSA and VRBA, respectively. Fungal contamination ranged from 1.97 to 35.4 CFU m−2 day−1 in MEA, and from undetectable to 48.8 CFU m−2 day−1 in DG18. Penicillium sp. presented the highest prevalence in MEA media (36.2%) and Cladosporium sp. in DG18 (39.2%). It was possible to observe: (a) settleable dust loadings and fungal contamination higher in dwellings with pets; (b) fungal species considered indicators of harmful fungal contamination; (c) Aspergillus section Candidi identified in supplemented media with voriconazole and posaconazole; (d) specific housing typologies and (e) specific housing characteristics influencing the microbial contamination.

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“…An additional study published intended to assess settleable dust loading rates and bioburden in Portuguese dwellings by passive sampling onto quartz fiber filters and electrostatic dust cloths (EDCs), including azole-resistance screening reinforcing the importance of applying azole resistance screening to unveil azole resistance detection in fungal species [ 13 ]. A similar approach was applied in a different study developed in two small commercial bakeries and in a pizzeria, which aimed to measure occupational exposure to flour and microorganisms, including azole resistance screening where the presence of azole-resistant fungi in these specific occupational environments was detected [ 14 ].…”

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confidence: 99%