Cent Eur J Public Health 2015, 23(4):331-334 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4062

Monitoring of Microscopic Filamentous Fungi in Indoor Air of Transplant Unit

Ondřej Holý1, Ivanka Matoušková1, Alena Kubátová2, Petr Hamal3, Lucie Svobodová3, Eva Jurásková4, Luděk Raida5
1 Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
2 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
3 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
4 Department of Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
5 Department of Haemato-Oncology, University Hospital Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Aim: The aim of the study was to control the microbial contamination of indoor air monitored monthly at the Transplant Unit of the University Hospital Olomouc from August 2010 to July 2011.

Methods: The unit is equipped with a three-stage air filtration system with HEPA filters. The MAS-100 air sampler (Merck, GER) was used. Twenty locations were singled out for the purposes of collecting a total of 720 samplings of the indoor air. Swabs of the HVAC diffusers at the sampling locations were always carried out after the sampling of the indoor air.

Results: In total, 480 samples of the indoor air were taken for Sabouraud chloramphenicol agar. In 11 cases (2.29%) the cultivation verified the presence of microscopic filamentous fungi. Only two cases involved the sanitary facilities of a patient isolation box; the other positive findings were from the facilities. The most frequent established genus was Aspergillus spp. (4x), followed by Trichoderma spp. (2x) and Penicillium spp. (2x), Paecilomyces spp., Eurotium spp., and Chrysonilia spp. (1x each). In 2 cases the cultivation established sterile aerial mycelium, unfortunately no further identification was possible. A total of 726 swabs of HVAC diffusers were collected (2 positive - 0.28%). The study results demonstrated the efficacy of the HVAC equipment.

Conclusions: With the continuing increase in the number of severely immunocompromised patients, hospitals are faced with the growing problem of invasive aspergillosis and other opportunistic infections. Preventive monitoring of microbial air contaminants is of major importance for the control of invasive aspergillosis.

Keywords: cleanrooms, haemato-oncologic patients, hospital environment, risk of fungal infections

Received: July 22, 2014; Revised: May 15, 2015; Accepted: May 15, 2015; Published: December 30, 2015  Show citation

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Holý O, Matoušková I, Kubátová A, Hamal P, Svobodová L, Jurásková E, Raida L. Monitoring of Microscopic Filamentous Fungi in Indoor Air of Transplant Unit. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2015;23(4):331-334. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a4062. PubMed PMID: 26841147.
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