Fungal spore distribution in two hospitals in Kabale district, Uganda
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25081/jes.2022.v13.7791Keywords:
fungi, health, airborne, hospitalAbstract
Fungi infections are a danger to the value of human life as they cause health issues such as depression, lack of self-confidence and seclusion in infected individuals. To date, the prevalence and distribution of airborne fungi spores are still not well documented in Uganda. Airborne fungi spores in Kabale Referral and Rugarama hospitals were monitored for two months. This study also examined the proportion of fungal infection cases reported in the two hospitals regularly. The fungal colonies were collected for two months using the open plate sedimentation method with Petri dishes of Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media, cultured and identified morphologically. The obtained results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMTR) with a level of significance at P<0.05. A total of 398 fungal colonies were obtained from the two locations for the period of study. Aspergillus flavus (15.3%) followed by Aspergillus fumigatus (10.6%) recorded the highest number of fungal colonies while Nigrospora (1%), Fusarium spp,(2.3%) and Trichoderma spp, (1.3%) had the least number of species in all the locations sampled. A number of the fungi isolated are opportunistic and are allergens that cause various diseases, irritations and allergic reactions in humans. Therefore, this study recommends routine aerobiological monitoring in both outdoor and indoor hospital environments for better management of fungal infections.
Downloads
References
Adekunle, A. A. (2000). Airborne fungi of some eating places on the University of Lagos Campus, Akoka Campus, Nigeria. Bioscience Research Communications, 13(5), 517-522.
Asan, A., (2004). Aspergillus, Penicillium and the related species reported from Turkey. Mycotaxon, 89(1), 155-157.
Balloy, V., & Chignard, M. (2009). The innate immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus. Microbes and Infection, 11(12), 919-927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2009.07.002
Beezhold, D. H., Green, B. J., Blachere, F. M., Schmechel, D., Weissman, D. N., Velickoff, D., Hogan, M. B., & Wilson, N. W. (2008). Prevalence of allergic sensitization to indoor fungi in West Virginia. Allergy and Asthma Proceedings, 29(1), 29-34. https://doi.org/10.2500/aap2008.29.3076
Boyacioglu, H., Haliki, A., Ates, M., Guvensen, A., & Abaci, O. (2007). The statistical investigation on airborne fungi and pollen grains of atmosphere in Izmir-Turkey. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 135, 327-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9652-z
Chang, J., Ruiz, V., & Vancua, A. (2008). Purification of yeast membranes and organelles by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.), 457, 141-149. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-261-8_10
Enoch, D. A., Ludlam, H. A., & Brown, N. M. (2006). Invasive fungal infections: A review of epidemiology and management options. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 55(7), 809-818. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.46548-0
Faure, O., Fricker-Hidalgo, H., Lebeau, B., Mallaret, M. R., Ambroise- Thomas, P., & Grillot, R. (2002). Eight-year surveillance of environmental fungal contamination in hospital operating rooms and haematological units. The Journal of Hospital Infection, 50(2), 155-160. https://doi.org/10.1053/jhin.2001.1148
Gravesen, S. (1985). Indoor airborne mould spores. Allergy, 40(S3), 21–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.1985.tb04292.x
Hashemi, S. J., Gerami, M., Zibafar, E., Daei, M., Moazeni, M., & Nasrollahi, A. (2009). Onychomycosis in Tehran: mycological study of 504 patients. Mycoses, 53(3), 251–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0507.2009.01703.x
Hedayati, M. T., Pasqualotto, A. C., Warn, P. A., Bowyer, P., & Denning, D. W. (2007). Aspergillus flavus: Human pathogen, allergen and mycotoxin producer. Microbiology, 153(6), 1677-1692. https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2007/007641-0
Jain, A., Jain S., & Rawat, S. (2010). Emerging fungal infections among children: A review on its clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and prevention. Journal of Pharmacy and BioAllied Sciences, 2(4), 314–320. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-7406.72131
Khan, A. A. H., Karuppayil, S. M., Manoharachary, C., Kunwar, I. K., & Waghray, S. (2009). Isolation, identification and testing for allergenicity of fungi from air-conditioned indoor environments. Aerobiologia, 25, 119–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-009-9114-x
Lemaire, B., Normand, A. C., Forel, J. M., Cassir, N., Piarroux, R., & Ranque, S. (2018). Hospitalized patient as source of Aspergillus fumigatus, 2015. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 24(8), 1524–1527. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2408.171865
Makut, M. D., Nyam, M. A., Shehu, L., & Anzak, S. J. (2014). A survey of the microflora of the outdoor air environment of Keffi Metropolis, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. African Journal of Microbiology Research, 8(27), 2650–2655.
Marcoux, D., Jafarian, F., Joncas, V., Buteau, C., Kokta, V., & Moghrabi. A. (2009). Deep cutaneous fungal infections in immunocompromised children. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 61(5), 857-864. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2009.02.052
Naruka, K., & Gaur, J. (2012). Microbial air contamination in a school. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 2(12), 404–410.
Odebode, A. J. (2017). Characterization of allergenic fungal spores from selected locations in Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Lagos.
Samet, J. M., & Spengler, J. D. (2003). Indoor Environments and Health: Moving into the 21st Century. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1489–1493. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.93.9.1489
Uztan, A. H., Ates, M., Abaci, O., Gulbahar, O., Erdem, N., Çiftçi, O., & Boyacioglu, H. (2010). Determination of potential allergenic fungal flora and its clinical reflection in suburban elementary schools in Izmir. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 168, 691-702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1144-x
Wang, J. L., Chang, C. H., Young-Xu, Y., & Chan, K. A. (2010). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the tolerability and hepatotoxicity of antifungals in empirical and definitive therapy for invasive fungal infection. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 54(6), 2409-2419. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01657-09
Worodria, W, Menten, J., Massinga-Loembe, M., Mazakpwe, D., Bagenda, D., Koole, O., Mayanja-Kizza, H., Kestens, L., Mugerwa, R., Reiss, P., Colebunders, R., & TB-IRIS Study Group. (2012). Clinical spectrum, risk factors and outcome of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in patients with tuberculosis-HIV coinfection. Antiviral Therapy, 17(5), 841-848. https://doi.org/10.3851/IMP2108
.