Electrostatic Dust Cloth: A Useful Passive Sampling Method When Assessing Exposure to Fungi Demonstrated in Studies Developed in Portugal (2018-2021).

Susana Viegas,Marta Dias,Carla Viegas

doi:10.3390/pathogens11030345

Susana Viegas, Marta Dias + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11030345

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Abstract

Electrostatic dust cloths (EDC) have been widely used for microbiologic contamination assessment in different indoor and occupational environments. This paper reviews sixteen studies performed in Portugal between 2018 and 2021 for evaluating the exposure to microbiological agents and focusing on fungi using EDC as a passive sampling method. The findings suggest that EDC can be applied as a screening method for particulate matter-exposure assessment and as a complementary method to characterize microbial exposures in occupational environments. Overall, EDC should be included, side by side with other sampling methods, in sampling campaigns focused on exposure assessments due to the advantages such as the straightforward extraction protocol favoring the employment of different assays, which allows us to assess exposure to a wide range of microbial agents, and presents higher accuracy regarding the fungal diversity.

Highlights

In a recent study performed by Adams et al (2021) [2] in a school’s environment and using electrostatic dust collectors (EDC) it was possible to identify the microorganisms related to inspection-based building moisture damage and examine the links between those microbial exposures and health effects [2]
EDC results evidenced the presence of Fusarium equisetii and Cladosporium sp. on malt extract agar (MEA) and DG18, respectively
EDC can be applied as a screening method in exploratory studies concerning particulate matter-exposure assessment and to quantify exposures in specific occupational environments

Summary

Introduction

It is critical to select the best sampling approach to allow the accurate measurement and identification of the microbiological agents present in the indoor environments to be assessed. In a recent study performed by Adams et al (2021) [2] in a school’s environment and using electrostatic dust collectors (EDC) it was possible to identify the microorganisms related to inspection-based building moisture damage and examine the links between those microbial exposures and health effects [2]. This sampling method has been widely used for microbiologic contamination assessment in different indoor and occupational environments (Table 1). If the intention is to perform viability studies, the electrostatic cloth used should not be impregnated with any kind of biocide to avoid impairing the viability of the microorganisms viability

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