UDC 582.28:631.53]:373.23(497.113) DOI: 10.2298/ZMSPN1324297N
M i l a n a S. N o v a k o v i ć1, M a j a A. K a r a m a n1, D r a g a n V. R a d n o v i ć1, P r e d r a g K. R a d i š i ć1, B r a n k o B. Š i k o p a r i j a1
1 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology and Ecology, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21 000 Novi Sad, Serbia*
MONITORING OF FUNGAL SPORES IN THE INDOOR AIR OF PRESCHOOL INSTITUTION FACILITIES IN NOVI SAD
ABSTRACT: Fungal spores can cause a range of health problems in humans such as respiratory diseases and mycotoxicoses. Since children are the most vulnerable, the pres-ence of fungal spores in the facilities of preschool and school institutions should be investi-gated readily. In order to estimate air contamination by fungal spores, air sampling was conducted in eight facilities of the preschool institution in Novi Sad during February and March, 2007. Sedimentation plate method was used for the detection of viable fungal spores, mostly being members of subdv. Deuteromycota (Fungi imperfecti).
In 32 samples a total of 148 colonies were developed, among which five genera were identified: Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Alternaria and Acremonium while non-sporulating fungal colonies were labeled as sterile mycelia. Most frequently recorded genera were Penicillium with 46 colonies and Cladosporium with 44 colonies. The genera Asper-gillus and Alternaria were represented with 3 colonies each and Acremonium with only 1 colony. The greatest number of colonies emerged in the samples from the day care facilities “Vendi” (58 colonies) and “Panda” (49 colonies). Most diverse samples were obtained from the day care center “Zvončica”, with presence of all identified genera.
These results showed notable presence of fungal spores in the indoor air of Preschool institution facilities and indicated the need for further, more complete seasonal research. Obtained information is considered useful for the evaluation of potential mycofactors that endanger health of children.
KEY WORDDS: children, day care, fungi, indoor air, Preschool institution, spores
INTRODUCTION
(dampness, high temperature and the presence of organic and inorganic sub-strates) (P e s s i et al., 2000; L i a o et al., 2004).
Children spend most of their time inside the rooms of educational insti-tutions which are common sites of air quality problems (D a i s e y et al., 2003; A y d o g d u et al., 2005). Therefore, a good indoor air quality in build-ings of day care centers and schools is essential for children’s safety. Various studies (F e r n g and L e e, 2002; K o s k i n e n et al., 2004; Z u r a i m i et al., 2009) showed that poor environmental conditions in day care centers can threaten the health of preschool children. Over the last decade, potential health consequences of fungal contaminants in indoor environment resulted in an increased interest for determination of potential exposure levels of these contaminants (D o t t e r u d et al., 1996; H a v e r i n e n et al., 1999; S m e d j e and N o r b a c k, 1999; S u et al., 2001; D a i s e y et al., 2003).
Aerobiology studies the release of biological particulate matter into the atmosphere, its atmospheric transport, deposition and resuspension (S c h e i -f i n g e r et al., 2013). In Serbia, aerobiological research is -focused on the stud-ying of outdoor environment, in particular airborne pollen (S i k o p a r i j a et al., 2011). Furthermore, no aeromycological research of the indoor environ-ment in school and preschool facilities has been conducted so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of viable fungal spores in the indoor air of the day care facilities of preschool institutions in Novi Sad (Serbia).
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Airborne fungal spores were collected in February and March 2007, in eight facilities (child day care centers) of the preschool institution ˮRadosno detinjstvo“ in Novi Sad: “Zvončica”, “Plavi zec”, “Vila”, “Petar Pan”, “Du nav ski cvet”, “Maslačak”, “Panda” and “Vendi”. Each of these facilities was visited once. The presence of airborne fungal spores was investigated in the room where children spent most of the time during their stay in the day care center. The visited child day care centers were situated in different parts of the city. They also varied according to building age and size, number of children and staff, as well as the sizes of the investigated rooms. All of the facilities were equipped with a central heating system and ventilation was provided natu-rally through windows. Floors were predominantly covered with carpet.
The use of sedimentation plate sampling method enabled the recovering of cultivable fungi which easily produce reproductive structures necessary for proper determination (mostly belonging to the group Deuteromycota or Fungi imperfecti). Determination of fungal genera was based on micro- and macro-morphology, as well as reverse coloration and surface coloration of colonies, according to W a t a n a b e (2002). Fungal colonies which did not sporulate after 10 days were recorded as sterile.
RESULTS
From the indoor air of eight analyzed sites, a total of 148 fungal colonies were isolated in 32 sampled Petri plates. The sterile colonies dominated with 51 CFU (34%). Sporulating fungi belonged to five genera of filamentous fungi (Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Acremonium). The most widespread genera, Penicillium and Cladosporium, were present in all of the investigated rooms (Tab. 1). They were also the most numerous with 46 CFU (31%) and 44 CFU (30%), respectively. Aspergillus and Alternaria were rep-resented with 3 CFU (2%), while Acremonium was recorded with only one colony (1%) (Fig. 1).
Tab. 1. – Presence of isolated fungal genera in the investigated facilities
Identified fungal genera
Number of colony forming units (CFU)
Total number
Percent-age (%)
Vendi Panda Masla-čak Zvon-čica ski cvetDunav- Plavi zec. Vila Petar Pan
Non-sporulat-ing colonies 27 14 2 2 3 3 / / 51 34.5
Penicillium 26 7 6 1 1 1 3 1 46 31.1
Cladosporium 5 28 2 3 2 2 1 1 44 29.7
Aspergillus / / 1 1 / / / 1 3 2
Alternaria / / / 1 / / 1 1 3 2
Acremonium / / / 1 / / / / 1 0.7
TOTAL 148 100
The total counts of CFU per each examined facility are shown in Fig. 2. Day care centers “Vendi” and “Panda” stand out with the highest number of detected viable airborne fungal spores – 58 CFU and 49 CFU, respectively. The number of fungal colonies developed in the samples from other facilities was notably lower (“Maslačak” – 11 CFU, “Zvončica” – 9 CFU, “Dunavski cvet” and “Plavi zec” – 6 CFU each, “Vila” – 5 CFU). The lowest number of CFU was obtained from “Petar Pan” (4). With five isolated genera, the diversity of recorded colonies was the highest in the day care centar “Zvončica”, while in “Dunavski cvet”, “Panda” and “Vendi” only Cladosporium and Penicillium
Fig. 1. – Distribution of detected fungal genera in the total number of developed colonies (CFU)
DISCUSSION
The most common airborne fungal spores in the indoor environment belong to the following genera: Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria and
Aspergillus (E t z e l et al., 1998; R o l k a et al., 2005; K a l y o n c u, 2008) which is in accordance with our results. Moreover, Penicillium and Clad-osporium which were present in all of the investigated sites and dominated among other fungal genera detected, were found to be predominant in many other indoor aeromycological studies (H u et al., 2002; S a r i c a et al., 2002; S h e l t o n et al., 2002; L e e et al., 2006; A y d o g d y and A s a n, 2008). Similar to our study, the research conducted by A y d o g d u et al. (2005) in the indoor air of 5 schools in Turkey recognized Alternaria and Aspergillus as the most frequent, followed by Penicillium and Cladosporium. Acremonium was the only genus in our research that was registered in a single sample with one colony. Other investigations of indoor air, in buildings with different purpose, have also recorded presence of Acremonium in small percentage (S h e l t o n et al. 2002; L u g a u s k a s and K r i k s t a p o n i s, 2004; R o l k a et al., 2005) but there was an indication of possible sample contamination. The oc-currence and airborne spore concentrations in indoor environment show no-table seasonal variability but also greatly depend on: geographical, climatic and meteorological parameters, surrounding vegetation, specific sources of indoor contamination, as well as the sampling time and procedure (A y d o g d u et al., 2008). Many of the airborne spores recorded in the indoor environments, particularly those of Cladosporium and Alternaria, originate from outdoor sources (H i n d y and A w a d, 2000). In contrast, species of Aspergillus and
Penicillium are mainly derived from indoor sources (Ay d o g d u et al., 2005). The highest number of CFU, reported from day care centers “Vendi” and “Panda”, indicated notably higher amount of viable airborne fungal spores compared to the other investigated facilities. Main contributor to the high num-ber of CFU in samples from the day care “Vendi” was the genus Penicillium
(45%). This might indicate that the applied ventilation methods were not ad-equate for the given room, resulting in promotion of fungal proliferation in-side the building. As opposed to this, Cladosporium was the main contributor to the high number of CFU recorded in the day care center “Panda” (57%). This result might be related to the immediate vicinity of a park area (Futoški park), which could be a source of Cladosporium – the mold usually developed in soil, on vegetation and decaying plant material (E l l i s, 1971). However, the applied sampling method could also have affected high concentrations of
Cladosporium and Penicillium in facilities “Vendi” and “Panda”. With the application of culturing methods in aeromycological research, it is possible to overestimate the importance of these molds since their species grow easily in culture plates (A y d o g d u et al., 2005).
B a r t h a, 1998). This method is recommended for obtaining preliminary or qualitative information (H o e k s t r a, 2002).
Airborne fungi identified in the selected facilities of the preschool insti-tution “Radosno detinjstvo” may affect the health of children and employees. D a i s e y et al. (2003) determined that the symptoms of asthma and “sick building syndrome” are common in school children. According to P a s t u s z k a et al. (2000), Cladosporium, Alternaria and Aspergillus represent the main group of airborne molds to which children may be sensitized and which may cause allergic symptoms. Alternaria and Cladosporium are considered to be the most important aeroallergens in the outdoor air, as well as the cause of mycotoxicosis in humans. Frequent exposure to airborne aeroallergens of the genus Alternaria can result in respiratory arrest in children and adolescents with asthma (O ’ H o l l a r e n et al., 1991). Spores of Aspergillus and Penicillium
represent the most widespread aeroallergens in the world (A y d o g d u et al., 2005) and are recently recognized as the most important allergens of indoor air (S h e n et al., 2000; F i s h e r and D o t t, 2003; K a s z n i a – K o c o t et al., 2007). Records on the Aspergillus and Penicillium viable fungal spores could indicate the presence of molds that are known to be responsible for mycotoxin production and emission of volatile organic compounds – VOC’s (K a s z n i a – K o c o t et al., 2007).
CONCLUSION
Presence of airborne fungal spores in buildings of educational facilities can affect the health of children and staff. Results of our study indicated no-table presence of viable fungal spores in the air of examined preschool facilities, hence the need for further, more detailed investigations. Seasonal air monitor-ing of fungal spores and application of more accurate, quantitative samplmonitor-ing method (the use of vacuum/culture samplers) would provide a more detailed insight about indoor air quality. Information obtained by such studies is re-quired for the assessment of health-threatening factors, medical evaluation of children and staff health condition and for the implementation of remediation procedures.
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МОНИТОРИНГ СПОРА ГЉИВА У ОБЈЕКТИМА ПРЕДШКОЛСКЕ УСТАНОВЕ У НОВОМ САДУ
Милана С. Новаковић1, Маја А. Караман1, Драган В. Радновић1,
Предраг К. Радишић1, Бранко Б. Шикопарија1
1 Природно-математички факултет Универзитета у Новом Саду, Одељење за
биологију и екологију, Трг Доситеја Обрадовића 2, 21000 Нови Сад, Србија Резиме
Споре гљива могу бити узрочници низа различитих здравствених пробле-ма код људи, као што су респираторна обољења и микотоксикозе. С обзиром на то да деца представљају једну од најугроженијих група, било би пожељно редовно проверавати присуство спора гљива у просторијама предшколских и школских установа. У циљу процене квалитета ваздуха и евентуалног присуства спора гљива, током фебруара и марта 2007. године извршено је узорковање ваздуха у осам објеката Предшколске установе у Новом Саду. Употребљена је метода се-диментационих плоча, а у центру истраживања биле су гљиве које су претежно припадници подраздела Deuteromycota (Fungi imperfecti).
У 32 узорковане петри плоче развило се укупно 148 колонија различитих
родова гљива, од којих је укупно пет детерминисано: Penicillium, Cladosporium,
Aspergillus, Alternaria и Acremonium. Гљиве чије колоније нису спорулисале, нису могле бити детерминисане и означене су као стерилне. Доминантни родови били су Penicillium са 46 колонија и Cladosporium са 44 колоније, док су родови Asper-gillus и Alternaria били заступљени са по 3 колоније, а род Acremonium забележен је само са 1 колонијом. Највећи број колонија јавио се у узорцима из обданишта „Венди“ (58 колонија) и „Панда“ (49 колонија). Објекат „Звончица“ био је најразно-врснији на основу присуства детерминисаних родова (забележено присуство свих 5 родова).
Добијени резултати указују на значајно присуство спора гљива у ваздуху испитиваних објеката и на потребу за даљим, потпунијим испитивањима. Инфор-мације добијене оваквим истраживањима изузетно су корисне за процену потен-цијалних фактора који угрожавају здравље деце.
КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ: деца, гљиве, ваздух, предшколске установе, просторије, споре
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was conducted as a part of the project ˮMonitoring indoor allergens in the facilities of the Preschool institution in Novi Sad“, funded by the City administration for environmental protection, City of Novi Sad. Authors would like to thank the head of the project prof. dr Smiljka Šimić, for enabling us to participate in it.
