Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to isolate and identify potentially pathogenic airborne fungi from Hospital das Clinicas Samuel Libanio in the city of Pouso Alegre-MG and evaluate their susceptibility to natural and industrial products. Methods: The air collection was performed by passive sedimentation in the morning during the autumn and winter seasons. Petri dishes were open as the location of air conditioning. The isolates were subjected to pathogenicity test. The identification of the fungi was performed according to the macroscopic evaluation and micromorphology. Potentially pathogenic isolates were susceptibility tested by disc diffusion method. The agents used were insecticides and industrial cleaning products and essential oils of citronella plants, lemon grass, eucalyptus and Melaleuca extracted by steam distillation method. Results: We obtained a total of 356 fungal isolates. The inside door environments were 126 (35.39%) and the outside environments were 230 (64.6%) isolates. The 22 (6.18%) isolates from the inside and 25 (6.18%) outside the hospital showed pathogenic potential. This isolates were identified as Acremonium spp., A. niger, A. terreus, A. versicolor, Curvularia sp., Penicillium sp. and Scopulariopsis sp. Susceptibility testing it was observed that most of the isolates were susceptible to the principle product containing sodium hypochlorite. Citronella oil showed enormous potential inhibition against all isolates. Already lemon grass oil was effective only against isolates of Penicillium spp. Conclusions: All genres identified are significant allergens, which can cause respiratory disease in both immunocompromised individuals such as asthmatics and people with any immune deficit. The monitoring of environmental sources should be performed, especially in special areas with immunocompromised patients. Despite efforts to try to reduce fungal infections hospital there are still flaws in the strategies employed.
Highlights
The Hospital (Nosocomial) Infection (HI) is infections acquired in hospitals or other medical conditions that in the last 25 years has reached more than two million cases per year [1]
During the fall and winter, the concentration of airborne microorganisms in indoor areas was I/E = 0.55 being within the limit I/E ≤ 1.5 suggested by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Santirária—ANVISA) for microbiological contamination, this recommendation is not specific to hospitals [14]
The relationship of microorganisms grown at 37 ̊C was I/E = 0.88 were classified as pathogenic according Leenders et al [15]. These results suggest that the external air studied had contamination level greater than the indoor air, in other words, the air that reaches the interior has being filtered while passing through the cooling system
Summary
The Hospital (Nosocomial) Infection (HI) is infections acquired in hospitals or other medical conditions that in the last 25 years has reached more than two million cases per year [1]. In the hospital setting the presence of microorganisms in the air are frequently, floors and walls, and these opportunistically, may preferentially infect the patients who use catheters, dialysis, children, the ancient, immunocompromised, causing severe intra-hospital infections [2]. Fungal infections of hospital origin seem to be of great importance, due to its progressive increase and by high rates of morbidity and mortality [3]. Nosocomial fungal infections have become increasingly frequent, especially in immunocompromised patients from infectious diseases, neoplasms, hemopathies, transplanted and overall postoperative of diverse heart surgeries [4]
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