Air quality in the city of Bahia Blanca. Bio-particles in outdoor air and in house dust of homes.

MURRAY M. GABRIELA; BIANCHINOTTI MARÍA VIRGINIA; CARIGNANO C.; ELOSEGUI; ABREGO; SPAGNOLO

Buenos Aires

Congreso; 9th International Congress on Aerobiology; 2010

International Association for Aerobiology

Bioaerosols (fungal spores and pollen grains) and other components of domestic dust (like mites) are easily breathable and therefore are responsible for respiratory allergies. Among those biological particles that are passively transported by wind, pollen grains of anemophilous plants and spores of fungi are remarkable because of their high morphological diversity and concentration. Fungal structures (spores and hyphal fragments) and mites are important indoor allergens. The objectives of this work were to analyze the diversity of pollen grains and fungal spores and determine their number and importance as biotic components in the atmosphere of the city. To identify and quantify the species of fungi present in house dust, mostly to identify which are the main constituents of the fungal spectrum and to establish which is the normal concentration for healthy houses (without symptoms) in the area. To assess the presence of mites (Dermatophagoides spp.) in four homes in the city. A Rotorod mod. 40 sampler was used to collect samples of outdoor air daily; data were expressed in grains or spores/m3 air. House dust was collected in 45 homes for a year seasonally using a portable vacuum cleaner and swabs, dilutions were inoculated on two culture media, colonies were counted as CFU and expressed as CFU/g. The study of mites was conducted in four selected households according to their geographical location (N, S, E and W). Samples were taken monthly after vacuuming selected surfaces (room floor, mattresses and pillows). The material was placed in sealed bags and sent to CEPAVE, La Plata for being analyzed. Sixty three pollinic types and four types of spores were identified in outdoor air, being Amaranthaceae, Cupressaceae, Fraxinus, Myrtaceae and Poaceae the most important. During the spring and summer months, there was a greater diversity and abundance of pollen grains in the air, while fungal spores predominated in November, December, February and June. In house dust over 40 fungal species were identified, Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria alternata (in coincidence with outdoor data) were the most abundant, along with Penicillium spp. There was an increase in the number of CFU seasonally in spring and summer. Mites of genus Dermatophagoides were identified in 20 out of 28 samples of domestic dust. According to these results it is necessary to continue the study of aeroallergens and perform it systematically to allow the study of the association with respiratory symptoms.