Indoor and Outdoor Air Fungus Bioaerosols in Khorramabad Day Care Child Centers Western of Iran, 2018

the aim of this study was to determine the quantity and quality of indoor and outdoor air fungus bioaerosols in Khorramabad day care child centers.

A total of 180 air samples were collected from 10 centers in 2018. The samples included 7 indoor and 2 outdoor sampling points. The total number of children was 580. Sampling of fungal bioaerosols was performed by the ZEFON pump (ZEFON factory, USA) with a flow rate of 28.3 L/min. The Sabouraud Dextrose Agar containing chloramphenicol was used as the culture medium. Relative humidity and temperature were measured by a Hygro-Thermometer (TES-1360A- Taiwan-made Humidity and temperature meter).

The results showed that 96.1 % of the samples were positive and had grown colonies. The highest amount of fungal agents in the indoor air and outdoor air were 175.58 CFU/m3 and 274.56 CFU/m3 in May, while the lowest rates were 3.4 CFU/m3 and 7.8 CFU/m3 in July, respectively. Aspergillus niger and Mucor were the most highly abundant fungus genera, while Fusarium was the lowest one. In all samples, the I/O (indoor/outdoor) ratio was more than 1; so, fungal bioaerosols in indoor environments were dominant than the outdoor fungal bioaerosols. The relationship of fungal bioaerosols with RH and T)°C( was significant (P-value = 0.001).

Generally, the amount of contamination is considerable in the studied day care child centers. Therefore, ventilation modification is recommended by a purifier filter. Moreover, the ventilation conditions and favorable air standards should be monitored continuously by supervisory authorities.