Investigation of fungal volatile organic compounds in hospital air

Özet

Fungal growth within the structure of buildings or in ventilation filters generates “hidden contamination”,which cannot be detected only through visual inspection. At the beginning of development, thefungi release fungal volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) into the atmosphere, which can originate frommetabolic pathways or from the enzymatic degradation of materials. This study analyzed the air qualityof a public referral hospital in Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil in terms of FVOCs, to establish ways to improve methods of monitoring and control of specific sectors in the hospital. For that, we created and validated aprotocol for detection of FVOCs, using GC/MS, while fungal samples were identified by analysis of macroand micromorphology. In total, 48 samples (60.5% positive) were analyzed for FVOCs; 7 were detected inat least one of the sectors analyzed, with 2-heptanone (179.5 mg/m3) and 2-methyl-1-propanol (121.5 mg/m3) as the most abundant. With respect to fungal findings, 24 samples were analyzed, with a highnumber of colony-forming units per cubic meter (CFU/m3) observed in all sectors. The airborne fungalspectrum revealed the existence of 19 genera, composed predominantly by hyaline filamentous deuteromycetes.Analysis with periodic monitoring is still needed to allow improvement in the data quality.Also, further discussion on the subject in the academic and legislative environment is needed tocontribute to the systematic study of aerobiology