Abstract
Background: Indoor air quality in environments where there is great circulation of people, posing risks to the health of its occupants, including allergic problems, infections and contaminations, can be aided by climatic factors, chemicals and biological agents housed in these environments, influencing the location and providing favorable conditions for the degradation of bibliographic collections. The present study investigated the presence of fungi in indoor environments in seven public and private libraries in the central region of Brazil, Mato Grosso, and verified the impact on occupational health. Results: A total of 26,194 fungal specimens were isolated from 342 dust samples collected using three techniques: Andersen’s sampler (12.3%), exposure plate dish (25.1%) and sterile swab (62.6%). A total of 184 fungal species were identified: 156 (84.8%) mycelial fungi and 28 (15.2%) yeast fungi, belonging 54 fungal genera, 43 (79.6%) mycelial fungi and 11 (20.4%) yeast fungi. The genus Aspergillus (40.6%) was one of the main fungi present in indoor air. Aspergillus niger (12.3%) was identified as the most prevalent species in literary environments, followed by Cryptococcus spp. (7.1%) and Cladosporium cladosporioides (7.0%). In relation to seasonal distribution, there was a greater fungal isolation in the dry season (54%); followed by the rainy season (46%). Conclusion: These results suggest the substrates researched in the evaluated environments presented in the form of documents, books and papers associated with dust and air humidity become suitable for microbiological proliferation. These findings highlight the importance of minimizing the risk of exposure to fungal agents, identified in pathogenic and toxigenic microenvironments in library collections.
Highlights
Recent studies suggested that there may be around 1.5 to 5.1 million extant fungal species and about 1200 new species are being described in each year [1]
The present study investigated the presence of fungi in indoor environments in seven public and private libraries in the central region of Brazil, Mato Grosso, and verified the impact on occupational health
A total of 342 samples were collected : periodicals, study areas, rare books, archive storage and display areas of seven libraries, four located in the city of Cuiabá and three located in the city of Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil (Figure 1)
Summary
Recent studies suggested that there may be around 1.5 to 5.1 million extant fungal species and about 1200 new species are being described in each year [1]. The great biological diversity of Brazilian regions makes Brazil a country with high biodiversity, coupled with the endemism of some species. This richness is distributed in the national territory in six continental biomes: Atlantic Rainforest, Pantanal, Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado and Pampas, which are characterized by certain uniformity in their environmental regions such as climate, temperature, soil and characteristic physiognomy [2]. Fungal microorganisms can affect all types of archives, regardless of their constitution Their propagules are dispersed in the environment and over the surface of objects in most places.
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