Assessment of microbiological indoor air quality in public buildings: A case study (Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

The indoor air quality in public buildings is essential for the health of employees and visitors. To investigate the potential influence of airborne germ loads on human health, two sampling campaigns were conducted during 2009 in several public buildings in Timisoara (Romania). The quality of air revealed highly significant differences among different sites. Cluster analysis accurately classified the investigated buildings into three main groups and for most groups of aerial microorganisms, the measured values rarely fell below the normal concentrations in indoor environments. Although the structure of airborne flora varied widely among different locations, mesophilic bacteria and molds were the main determinants of indoor air quality in investigated buildings. It was found that these two factors explained over 90% of the overall average dissimilarity in the structure of indoor airborne microbiota. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed a strong positive relationship between these two factors, which is probably related to the number of daily occupants and visitors as well as to the building age. Further research is required to determine more accurately the relationship between ventilation performance and air quality.

Hygiene Practices and Airborne Microbial Concentrations in Restaurants

“…This suggests a common source of contamination, which was likely related to poor hygiene practices. This is in line with the findings of Daliborca et al (2013) who found a positive relationship between the airborne mesophilic bacteria and mould levels in public buildings, in Timisoara, Romania and suggested a common source of contamination. It was also observed, from the results of the present study that bacteria had a statistically significant positive relationship with temperature and negative relationships with both humidity and airflow velocity.…”

“…Exposure to bacteria in the air may result in various types of infections ranging from anthrax, tuberculosis, Legionnaire's disease, influenza, gastrointestinal illness, measles and a number of respiratory diseases or symptoms, bacteremia, to meningitis (Srikanth et al, 2008;Fisher and Phillips, 2009;Arzt et al, 2011;Langer et al, 2012;Rohr et al, 2015). B. cereus, an airborne bacterium, is known to cause food borne illnesses, causing severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (Daliborca et al, 2013). Various airborne Gram-negative bacteria produce lipopolysaccharides (LPS) with hyper pro-inflammatory and toxic properties (Tirsoaga et al, 2007;Armstrong et al, 2013).…”

“…They concluded that high fungal concentrations in the indoor environments of various structures portend a public health danger. Exposure to fungi may cause skin and breathing problems, allergic, inflammatory, and toxic reactions (Daliborca et al, 2013;Lou et al, 2012;Fracchia et al, 2006).…”