CHARACTERIZATION AND EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE OF BIOLOGICAL RISKS TO AEROSOL IN AIR CONDITIONING FILTERS IN LIGHT AND HEAVY VEHICLES: AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE

Abstract

Introduction: Fungal spores are numerous fragments dispersed through the air and, due to their tiny dimensions, are classied as bio aerosols, which consist of particles and derivatives of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, organic compounds, metabolites, toxins and other fragments. The stu Objectives: dy analyzed fungal contamination in air conditioning lters collected from 100 motor vehicles (light and heavy). Methods: Over a period of 8 months, 100 air conditioning lters from light vehicles (cars) and heavy vehicles (trucks) from the cities of Cuiabá and Várzea Grande, central region of Brazil, were collected and evaluated. The survey found 76 fungal genera in Results: all samples collected (100%), including toxigenic fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Alternaria and Cryptococcus, indicating that indoor air quality can compromise the health of a portion of the population light vehicle user as well as professional truck drivers. The most prevalent aerial fungal spores recorded were of the genus Aspergillus (860; 37.79%) and Penicillium (240; 10.54%), followed by Cladosporium (119; 5.23%) and also Alternaria, Curvularia, Fusarium etc. and Candida yeasts (103;4.53%), Rhodotorula (66;2.90%) and Cryptococcus (44; 1.93%). Among the Aspergillus genus, the results showed the presence of the species A. avus, A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. ochraceus, A. terreus and A. clavatus, which cause severe allergic respiratory and pulmonary diseases. The maximum amount of spores was from species of the phylum Ascomycota (64; 84.21%), followed by Basidiomycota (6; 7.89%), Zygomicota and Mucoromycota (2; 2.63%) and nally Oomycota and Deuteromycota (1; 1.32%) respectively. The air in articially cooled enviro Conclusion: nments should provide comfort to its occupants, but it can pose a risk to human health if pathogenic and toxigenic fungi contaminate the air ltration systems in automobiles.