A survey on indoor air quality in the case of culturable airborne fungi during dust event days in Ahvaz, Iran

Ahvaz, the biggest city in southwestern of Iran, has encountered many dust plumes in this decade. In this study fungal population was examined in School, University and Hospital. Airborne fungi such as Aspergillus, Mucor and Rhizopus are opportunistic fungi which can cause aspergillusis and mucormycosis infections in immunodeficiency individuals, vulnerable groups as well as healthy people. The aim of this study was to evaluate characteristics of indoor airborne fungi at different places during dust event days. Samples were collected from July 2010 to March 2011 by using quicktake 30 which was equipped with a single stage sampler. The total fungal population (989 CFU/m3), was dominated by Cladosporium sp. (350 CFU/m3), Aspergillus sp. (276 CFU/m3), Rhizopus sp. (167 CFU/m3) and Penicillium sp. (48 CFU/m3) in dust event days. The fungi concentration levels and diversity were high during dust event days. As regarded to detrimental effects of fungi in indoor environment, it is recommended to reduce or control such microorganisms at the surveyed environments

کلیدواژه ها:

Airborne fungi ، dust event day ، indoor environment ، Ahvaz