Abstract:
ndoor air quality in hospitals is a concern due to presence of airborne
microorganisms that may cause nosocomial infections. Airborne fungi in hospitals
are considered critical pathogens of hospital-associated infections. Invasive fungal
infections acquired in the hospital have progressively emerged as an important
cause of life-threatening infection. The aim of the present work was to evaluate
the presence of airborne fungal propagules within a hospital. The study was
conducted in a district hospital in West Bengal for two consecutive years from
January 2014 to December 2015, using Burkard personal one day volumetric
Sampler. Sampling was performed indoors at five different wards (two on the
ground floor and three on the first floor). Samples were also collected from
outside the hospital as a control. Samplers were operated for 10 min. at 10 days
interval. Some of the dominant forms encountered were Aspergilli-Penicilli group,
Cladosporium sp., Candida sp., which showed significantly high concentration
inside hospital, followed by Trichophyton sp., Epicoccum sp., Pleospora sp.,
Microsporium sp., Curvularia sp. as compared to outside air. The peak period
for fungi was observed to be from March-June. Among the five different patients
wards there was a significant difference in fungal spore concentration calculated
by one way ANOVA. The spore concentration was much lower in hospital units
receiving filtered air as compared to control environment, but in naturally
ventilated hospitals the concentration was similar to that of outside air.
