Sazonality and prevalence of airborne fungi in the hospital environment on the south of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT The atmospheric air is the dispersion way more used and well succesfulled of fungi. The aim of this study was to identify the taxonomic diversity airborne fungi in the hospital environment. Air samples of the hospital were collected according to the seasons in a total of 104 samples, among May of 2006 to June of 2007. The Settle Plate technique was used and the identification of the fungus was made through to macro and micromorfology. The calcule of prevalences and x2 test were used. The most representative genera found were: Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Alternaria, Penicillium and Rhodotorula, besides non sporulated fungi. The genera seasonal distribution during the winter had higher prevalences of yeasts like Candida and Rhodotorula. During spring, Alternaria and Acremonium obtained the highest prevalences and in the summer Helminthosporium and Torula were most prevalents. Cladosporium was more prevalent during the spring and summer and Aspergillus was more prevalent during autumn and in the summer. The hospital places where there were more diversity of fungi were hospital trash place, carpentry, confined rooms, material preparation room, procedure rooms and material and sterilization center. The Units of Internment and the Clinics were the places with the highest index of fungical diversity. The genera Mucor and Rhizopus showed a correlation for the type of hospital environment. This is an unpublished study about hospitalar airborne fungi in this city showing the local features of this mycobiota.