Abstract
Background: Good indoor air quality is important for human health and comfort, because people spend a most of their time within buildings. Microbial pollution is a key element of indoor air pollution. Bacteria and fungi growing indoors when sufficient moisture is available usually cause indoor air pollution. Methods: This study was conducted to assess the microbial concentration and to identify the main bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of Central Library of the University of Yaounde I. A total of 76 samples were taken from indoor air, surfaces and mouldy books. Bioaerosol sampling and air concentration were made by passive air sampling technique using petri dishes containing different culture media and exposed for 30, 60 and 90 min in the morning and afternoon. Sampling of surfaces and mouldy books were made by rubbing using sterile swab. The identification of the isolated microorganisms was based on macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical characters. Results: The concentrations of bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of Central Library of the University of Yaounde I ranged between 747 and 2324 CFU/m for the air and 40 and 500 CFU/cm2 for surfaces. In the examined area, the predominant culturable species of microflora were members of the following bacteria genera; Bacillus spp, Staphylococcus spp, Micrococcus spp, Pseudomonas spp, Rhodococcus spp, Enterobacter spp, Klebsiella spp and Escherichia spp and fungi; Aspergillus spp, Penicillium spp, Curvularia spp, Mucor spp, Cladosporium spp, Candida spp Rhodotorula spp, Fusarium spp, Trichophyton spp, Acremonium spp, Aureobasidium spp, Rhizopus spp and Chrysonilia spp. Conclusion: High concentrations of bacteria and fungi were observed in the central library of the University of Yaounde I. Precautions and safety measures should be taken to reduce microbial pollution at universities libraries by improving libraries ventilation and disinfection.
Highlights
Confined workplaces such as offices, hospital wards and conservation buildings are so far involved in indoor pollution problems [1]
The results of the bacterial and fungal concentration range, arithmetic mean and standard deviation of aerosol present in sampling sites are presented in Tables 1-3 respectively
Results about identification are shown on Table 6. It present the repartition of different bacterial and fungal genera identified in different sampling sites
Summary
Confined workplaces such as offices, hospital wards and conservation buildings are so far involved in indoor pollution problems [1]. This calls for special attention as modern man spends 90% of his time inside confined spaces, 50% in dwellings and 30% in workplaces [2]. Methods: This study was conducted to assess the microbial concentration and to identify the main bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of Central Library of the University of Yaoundé I. Results: The concentrations of bacteria and fungi in the indoor environment of Central Library of the University of Yaoundé I ranged between 747 and 2324 CFU/m for the air and 40 and 500 CFU/cm for surfaces.
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