Airborne fungal contamination in the air from hospital environments in the city of Tehran, Iran

Environments, of which hospitals are of particular concern, contain different types of microorganisms, thus patients may serve as a source of pathogenic microbes to other patients, staff, and visitors. The aim of this study was to investigate environmental surveillance and diversity of airborne fungi in the air from six hospitals.
The samples were collected through a passive sedimentation method on to Sabouraud glucose agar containing chloramphenicol and incubated at 30˚C for 7–10 days.
A total of 459 samples were obtained from six different hospital environments. Yeast isolates belonged to four genera: Candida (21.78%), Trichosporon (5.22%), Rhodotorula (4.13%), Saccharomyces (4.35%), and filamentous isolates belonged to eight genera: Aspergillus (20.26%), Penicillium (8.49%), Mucor (10.45%), Rhizopus (8.06%), Fusarium (5.66%), Scopulariopsis (3.48%), Cladosporium (4.13%), and Acremonium (3.92%). Candida and Aspergillus species were the most commonly isolated species, respectively, representing a significant difference with other yeast and fungal species.
Considering the presence of pathogenic micro- organisms, environmental monitoring is necessary to prevent possible hospital infections.