Moisissures dans l’environnement et impacts sur la santé humaine

Abstract

AbstractExposure to ubiquitous molds in our environment is inevitable in many circumstances: at hospital, at work, at home… and can be responsible for infection and allergy depending on different underlying risk factors.In hospitals, exposure of immunosuppressed patients to filamentous micromycetes such as Aspergillus and mucorales can result in lifethreatening invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis. Prevention of these infections relies on two possible strategies: chemoprophylaxis and environmental prevention with air treatment and associated measures that allow a « protected area ». At work and at home, recurrent exposure to molds can result in chronic infection or immunoallergic disease. Beside molds, combination of exposure to other microorganisms (such as yeasts, Pneumocystis, bacteria and viruses) as well as to chemical compounds, what we call the exposome, can induce synergistic effects on health (or cocktail effects).Monitoring of the environmental fungal biocontamination is an essential tool for protected areas in hospitals and is also pertinent, using different techniques, to evaluate the fungal risk at home and at work.