Profiles of Airborne Fungi in Buildings and Outdoor Environments in the United States

ABSTRACT We examined 12,026 fungal air samples (9,619 indoor samples and 2,407 outdoor samples) from 1,717 buildings located across the United States; these samples were collected during indoor air quality investigations performed from 1996 to 1998. For all buildings, both indoor and outdoor air samples were collected with an Andersen N6 sampler. The culturable airborne fungal concentrations in indoor air were lower than those in outdoor air. The fungal levels were highest in the fall and summer and lowest in the winter and spring. Geographically, the highest fungal levels were found in the Southwest, Far West, and Southeast. The most common culturable airborne fungi, both indoors and outdoors and in all seasons and regions, were Cladosporium, Penicillium, nonsporulating fungi, and Aspergillus. Stachybotrys chartarum was identified in the indoor air in 6% of the buildings studied and in the outdoor air of 1% of the buildings studied. This study provides industrial hygienists, allergists, and other public health practitioners with comparative information on common culturable airborne fungi in the United States. This is the largest study of airborne indoor and outdoor fungal species and concentrations conducted with a standardized protocol to date.

[1]  R. McGee,et al.  Airborne microbial contaminants in indoor environments. Naturally ventilated and air-conditioned homes. , 1986, Archives of environmental health.

[2]  M. Bracken,et al.  The relation between fungal propagules in indoor air and home characteristics , 2001, Allergy.

[3]  J. Sosman,et al.  A one-year survey of mold growth inside twelve homes. , 1976, Annals of allergy.

[4]  Lee Goldman,et al.  Cecil Textbook of Medicine , 1985 .

[5]  P. Morey,et al.  Building-associated pulmonary disease from exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus versicolor. , 1998, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[6]  R. Etzel,et al.  Acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants associated with exposure to Stachybotrys atra and other fungi. , 1998, Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine.

[7]  W Pei-Chih,et al.  Characteristics of indoor and outdoor airborne fungi at suburban and urban homes in two seasons. , 2000, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  J M Macher,et al.  A two-year study of microbiological indoor air quality in a new apartment. , 1991, Archives of environmental health.

[9]  James P. Martin.  USE OF ACID, ROSE BENGAL, AND STREPTOMYCIN IN THE PLATE METHOD FOR ESTIMATING SOIL FUNGI , 1950 .

[10]  B. Jarvis,et al.  Airborne outbreak of trichothecene toxicosis , 1986 .

[11]  P. Morey,et al.  Health and immunology study following exposure to toxigenic fungi (Stachybotrys chartarum) in a water-damaged office environment. , 1996, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[12]  John A. Miller,et al.  Field guide for the determination of biological contaminants in environmental samples , 1996 .

[13]  E. Faragher,et al.  An investigation of the relationship between microbial and particulate indoor air pollution and the sick building syndrome. , 1992, Respiratory medicine.

[14]  R. Bush,et al.  The role and abatement of fungal allergens in allergic diseases. , 2001, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[15]  B. Brunekreef,et al.  Presence of viable mould propagules in indoor air in relation to house damp and outdoor air , 1992, Allergy.

[16]  K. Hsieh,et al.  Fungus allergens inside and outside the residences of atopic and control children. , 1995, Archives of environmental health.

[17]  B. Leaderer,et al.  Comparisons of seasonal fungal prevalence in indoor and outdoor air and in house dusts of dwellings in one Northeast American county1 , 1999, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.

[18]  A A ANDERSEN,et al.  NEW SAMPLER FOR THE COLLECTION, SIZING, AND ENUMERATION OF VIABLE AIRBORNE PARTICLES, , 1958, Journal of bacteriology.

[19]  P. Kozak,et al.  Factors of importance in determining the prevalence of indoor molds. , 1978, Annals of allergy.

[20]  Update: pulmonary hemorrhage/hemosiderosis among infants--Cleveland, Ohio, 1993-1996. , 1997, MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report.

[21]  J. Cookson,et al.  Natural atmospheric microbial conditions in a typical suburban area , 1983, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[22]  W. Solomon.  Assessing fungus prevalence in domestic interiors. , 1975, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[23]  W. Solomon,et al.  A volumetric study of winter fungus prevalence in the air of midwestern homes. , 1976, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[24]  H. Sluiter,et al.  A volumetric-aerobiologic study of seasonal fungus prevalence inside and outside dwellings of asthmatic patients living in northeast Netherlands. , 1984, Annals of allergy.