RESEARCH PAPER
Fungal diversity and Aspergillus in hospital environments
 
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1
Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, México
 
2
División de Investigación, Hospital Juárez de México. Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México
 
3
Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
 
4
Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
 
5
Unidad de Investigación, Instituto de Oftalmología “Fundación de Asistencia Privada Conde de Valenciana, IAP”, México
 
6
Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
 
7
Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado, Mexico
 
8
Departamento el Hombre y su Ambiente, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco, México
 
 
Corresponding author
María del Rocío Reyes-Montes   

Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico
 
 
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2016;23(2):264-269
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Introduction and objective:
Nosocomial invasive fungal infections, particularly aspergillosis, are an increasing problem in immunocompromised patients. The presented study evaluates fungal diversity and the presence of Aspergillusin air samples from two hospitals.

Material and Methods:
Over the course of one year (rainy and dry seasons), the air was sampled from three areas in two hospitals (1 and 2) using a single-stage Andersen viable particle sampler (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). The fungi were identified by macro- and micromorphology, and the number of colony forming units (CFU)/m3 air and their richness, abundance, and diversity were determined. Isolates Aspergillus genus were characterized by their thermotolerance.

Results:
The CFU/m3 air was similar at both hospitals during the two seasons, but different between the sampled areas. Results showed 10 fungal genera for hospital 1, and 8 for hospital 2. The most abundant were Penicillium, Cladosporium and Aspergillus. The thermotolerance test confirmed the identification of A. fumigatus section Fumigati. The highest growth rate was found in Aspergillus section Nigri.

Conclusions:
Determining the fungal diversity in the two hospitals was important because all the species have the potential to be pathogenic, especially the section Fumigati.

 
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