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Professional exposure to airborne fungi in the indoor environment

Airborne fungi in the indoor environment have been recognised as possible causative agents of various diseases in humans including chronic bronchitis, asthma, hypersensitivity reactions, even mycotoxicoses. These effects could be related to a professional exposure to airborne fungi. The aim of this study was to determine concentrations and frequency of airborne fungal species in the indoors of Croatian State Archives (CSA, N=30) and Croatian Conservation Institute (CCI, N=30). Airborne fungi were sampled using Mas 100 Eco Air-sampler and Malt agar plates. After 5-7 days of incubation, colony forming units in cubic meter (CFU/m3) were counted. Concentrations of airborne fungi were from 150 to 2000 CFU/m3, mean 953 CFU/m3 (CSA), and from 85 to 465 CFU/m3, mean 308 CFU/m3 (CCI), respectively. Dominant species were Chaetomium globosum (40%, up to 2000 CFU/m3) in CSA and Paecilomyces variotii (70% up to 170 CFU/m3) in CCI. Other fungi, including species of Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Alternaria, Trichoderma, Ulocladium and Phoma, comprised between 6 and 33% of the samples, with concentrations ranging from 1 to 108 CFU/m3. Significantly higher concentration of airborne fungi in CSA is due to high level of Chaetomium globosum, which grows on the materials with high water content. The majority of the identified fungi are characterized as allergenic and long-term exposure to their spores may provoke adverse health effects in susceptible individuals.

Airborne fungi; Chaetomium globosum; allergy; professional exposure

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