scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Book ChapterDOI

Spatial Variation of Airborne Allergenic Fungal Spores in the Ambient PM 2.5 —A Study in Rajkot City, Western Part of India

TL;DR: Assessment of the spatial distribution of PM2.5 associated fungal spore concentration levels in an urban city suggested that fungal spores were observed in the respirable fraction and so had the potential to penetrate the deeper part of the lungs.
Abstract: Fungal spores in the fine particle is an emerging pollutant of the technological age, which can create adversely effect on human health and their surrounding environment. Probably the first time in the western part of India, an investigation was organized to assess the spatial distribution of PM2.5 associated fungal spore concentration levels in an urban city. Five urban locations selected to cover probably all major areas of a city to conduct the study by using fine particulate sampler with 24 hours’ interval. Highest (101.79 ± 8.09 µg m−3) concentrations of PM2.5 have been observed in the industrial area only. The highest (8.0 × 1013 Colony-forming unit (CFU) m−3) in industrial area and lowest (2.0 × 108 CFU m−3) fungal concentrations were found in the residential area. Spores of seven fungal species (i.e., Aspergillus, Candida, Fusarium, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cephalosporium and Mucor) were significantly predominant in all selected locations in the urban area. In these views, Aspergillus, Candida and Penicillium, and Fusarium species were the dominant fungi in Industrial, slaughter house and dump site, respectively. The highest concentration of fungal spores was reported in industrial area and poultry farm as compared to other locations. Outcomes of the current work suggested that fungal spores were observed in the respirable fraction (<2.5 μm) and so had the potential to penetrate the deeper part of the lungs. In addition, the meteorological parameters i.e., temperature and relative humidity, were recorded to understand the relationship between meteorology and enhanced viability of fungal spores.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Sneha Gautam1
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of lockdown due to COVID-19 on aerosol optical thickness specifically in India were highlighted and secondary results have been taken from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), indicating significant reduction (50%) in air quality of Indian region.
Abstract: Corona virus diseases-2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease identified in late December, 2019, in Wuhan city of China, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Most countries including India have announced some sort of lockdown to reduce the effects of COVID-19 and discontinue the transmission of novel coronavirus. Major negative effects on the social and surrounding environment have been reported due to COVID-19, however positive effects have also been observed with respect to air quality. Secondary results have been taken from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), indicating significant reduction (50%) in air quality of Indian region. This perspective highlights the effects of the lockdown due to COVID-19 on aerosol optical thickness specifically in India.

198 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The result shows that the pollutants like CO, NO2 and SO2 are significantly decreased, while the average level of O3 has been slightly increased in 2020 during the lockdown due to close-down of all industrial and transport activities.
Abstract: The fatal novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disease smashes the normal tempo of global socio-economic and cultural livelihood. Most of the countries impose a lockdown system with social distancing measures to arrest the rapid transmission of this virus into the human body. The objective of this study is to examine the status of air quality during and pre-COVID-19 lockdown and to recommend some long-term sustainable environmental management plan. The pollution data like PM10, PM2.5, O3, SO2, NO2 and CO have been obtained from State Pollution Control Board under Govt. of West Bengal. Similarly, various land surface temperature (LST) maps have been prepared using LANDSAT-8 OLI and LANDSAT-7 ETM + images of USGS. The maps of NO2 and aerosol concentration over Indian subcontinent have been taken from ESA and NASA. The digital thematic maps and diagrams have been depicted by Grapher 13 and Arc GIS 10.3 platforms. The result shows that the pollutants like CO, NO2 and SO2 are significantly decreased, while the average level of O3 has been slightly increased in 2020 during the lockdown due to close-down of all industrial and transport activities. Meanwhile, around 17.5% was the mean reduction of PM10 and PM2.5 during lockdown compared with previous years owing to complete stop of vehicles movement, burning of biomass and dust particles from the construction works. This study recommends some air pollution-tolerant plant species (in urban vacant spaces and roof tops) for long-term cohabitation among environment, society and development.

134 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The incidence of known cases of novel coronavirus originated from Wuhan City of China has now been decreased by using prevention measures including strict social distancing; however, the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronav virus 2) is continued transmitting in the developing countries including India.
Abstract: As of April 07, 2020, 1,348,628 cases of, including 74,834 deaths attributed to, novel Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) had been informed worldwide (WHO 2019; Gautam and Trivedi 2020; aajtak.intoday.in/: 7 April, 2020). The incidence of known cases of novel coronavirus originated from Wuhan City of China has now been decreased by using prevention measures including strict social distancing; however, the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is continued transmitting in the developing countries including India. In news media and documents, Government of India and Wikipedia reported the information of first affected human by SARS-CoV-2 in Kerala, India, which was recognized in late January 2020, originating from China. As expected, the reported case returned from China and transmitted the infection to all surrounding people with unprotected contact. As the proportion of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases to be reported is large, it is quite impossible that some asymptomatic persons went undetected. In this regard, Kagaya et al. (2020) estimated the asymptomatic proportion of the outbreak of about 18% from Diamond Princess Cruise Ship. In India, as of April 07, 2020, 4421 cases of, including 114 deaths attributed to, novel Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) were reported (Aajtak.intoday.in/: 7 April, 2020). The variation of number of affected persons can easily observed in India, where the highest and lowest cases have been reported from Maharashtra and Mizoram, respectively (Fig. 1). According to Fig. 1, the highest number of cases have been reported in Maharashtra (15%), Tamil Nadu (14%), Delhi (13%), and Kerala (10%); however, it will be increased with time as the pandemic is still unravelling as the testing facilities are not broadly available across the country. On the other hand, few states of India fare better like Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, etc. In contrast, Zhou et al. (2020) reported that the infection rate and risk of death are higher in older age persons. As per population census 2011, the states of India like Kerala (12.6%), Goa (11.2%) and Tamil Nadu (10.4%) have maximum

73 citations


Cites background from "Spatial Variation of Airborne Aller..."

  • ...To reduce the impact of novel coronavirus and its transmission, lockdown activities launched in whole country with restriction of human mobility and economic activities. However, to observe comprehensive air quality data in different places of India, it can be seen that these novel coronavirus disease countermeasures led to remarkable improvement in the concentration of air pollutants (https ://aqicn .org/map/india /). According to WHO (2018), 4....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is well-established fact that the respiratory bio-aerosol expulsions of an infected person cause an exponential increase in the spread of respiratory tract viruses like COVID19, SARS, MERS and HINI Influenza and are a major cause of the global pandemic.
Abstract: The recent outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus which is suspected to be initiated from Wuhan city of China has been an immediate and urgent concern globally due to its rapid transmission rate. Coronavirus pandemic has spread over 126 countries and has taken the lives of thousands of people across the globe. Although the accurate pathogenesis of this virus is not yet decoded, it is established that this virus causes systemic failure of the respiratory system. It is also a well-established fact that this virus can spread through the dispersal of bio-aerosols by an infected individual. Bio-aerosols are now identified as major issue posing a threat to the environment and global health standards. Along with the presence of life-threatening respiratory viruses like COVID-19, bio-aerosols are also reported to contain toxic substances (i.e., volatile organic compounds (VoCs), heavy metals and harmful gases). Pathogenic microbes are also known to be transmitted through expulsion and settling of bio-aerosols (Kim et al. 2017). Ailments caused due to the propagation of such pathogens and their toxic constituents in the environment results in several diseases ranging from allergic asthma, cancer, localized and systemic organ failures (Humbal et al. 2018). It is well-established fact that the respiratory bio-aerosol expulsions of an infected person cause an exponential increase in the spread of respiratory tract viruses like COVID19, SARS, MERS and HINI Influenza and are a major cause of the global pandemic. (Núñez et al. 2016).These viruses have shown the resilience over a wide range of physiochemical conditions such as temperature and humidity which makes them a potential threat to mankind. Some of the well-reported bacterial pathogens such as Bordetella pertussis, Bacillus anthracis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Neisseria meningitidis are known to be transmitted via bio-aerosols causing collapse of the respiratory system and neurological abnormalities (GBD 2013). Certain species of pathogenic fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium moniliforme, Scedosporium apiospermum, and Mucorales spp. are commonly transmitted through bio-aerosols and are also known to cause localized and systemic organ infections, acute toxicity, hypersensitivity, and other respiratory abnormalities in immunocompromised patients (Jung et al. 2009). Many pathogens release toxic and immunogenic by-products endotoxins and β-glucans which may be transmitted through bio-aerosols and cause hyperactivity or repression of an individual’s immune response leading to

53 citations


Cites background from "Spatial Variation of Airborne Aller..."

  • ...Bio-aerosol is reported as one of the largest emerging pollutant in modern age (Humbal et al....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a rank algorithm for identifying possible landfill sites and its expansion in Coimbatore, south India, where 75% of municipal solid waste are dumped without treatment.
Abstract: The landfilling method is one of the best method of final disposal / treatment of solid waste globally. In India, 68.8-million-ton year solid waste are generated and 35% of the solid waste is generally sent to landfills only. By using vector data and remote sensing (RS), the rank algorithm is proposed in this study for identification of possible landfill sites and its expansion in Coimbatore, south India, where 75% of municipal solid waste are dumped without treatment. From the study, it is observed that 17% of the study area was identified as good, moderate and least or unsuitable for landfill expansion. Polygon 6, representing grazing/ agriculture land, is found to be most appropriate for the landfill expansion according to standard deviation from normalized indices, it is ranked 3rd among the 24 polygons in the target area. From this study, it is observed that 25% of the polygons were least suitable and 29% of the total target area was found to more suitable for landfill expansion, as per standard deviation. This method provides comparable results with other decision-making tools. The proposed method is purely based on RS and vector data, moreover its very flexible and if so desired, it can be used by policy makers.

18 citations

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Important areas that require further research include: potential protective effects of microbial exposures on atopy and atopic diseases, inter-individual susceptibility for biological exposures, interactions of bioaerosols with non-biological agents and other potential health effects such as skin and neurological conditions and birth effects.
Abstract: Exposures to bioaerosols in the occupational environment are associated with a wide range of health effects with major public health impact, including infectious diseases, acute toxic effects, allergies and cancer. Respiratory symptoms and lung function impairment are the most widely studied and probably among the most important bioaerosol-associated health effects. In addition to these adverse health effects some protective effects of microbial exposure on atopy and atopic conditions has also been suggested. New industrial activities have emerged in recent years in which exposures to bioaerosols can be abundant, e.g. the waste recycling and composting industry, biotechnology industries producing highly purified enzymes and the detergent and food industries that make use of these enzymes. Dose-response relationships have not been established for most biological agents and knowledge about threshold values is sparse. Exposure limits are available for some contaminants, e.g. wood dust, subtilisins (bacterial enzymes) and flour dust. Exposure limits for bacterial endotoxin have been proposed. Risk assessment is seriously hampered by the lack of valid quantitative exposure assessment methods. Traditional culture methods to quantify microbial exposures have proven to be of limited use. Non-culture methods and assessment methods for microbial constituents [e.g. allergens, endotoxin, beta(1-->3)-glucans, fungal extracellular polysaccharides] appear more successful; however, experience with these methods is generally limited. Therefore, more research is needed to establish better exposure assessment tools and validate newly developed methods. Other important areas that require further research include: potential protective effects of microbial exposures on atopy and atopic diseases, inter-individual susceptibility for biological exposures, interactions of bioaerosols with non-biological agents and other potential health effects such as skin and neurological conditions and birth effects.

1,157 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
22 Feb 2012-Tellus B
TL;DR: A review of the current knowledge on major categories of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP): bacteria and archaea, fungal spores and fragments, pollen, viruses, algae and cyanobacteria, biological crusts and lichens and others like plant or animal fragments and detritus is presented in this article.
Abstract: Atmospheric aerosol particles of biological origin are a very diverse group of biological materials and structures, including microorganisms, dispersal units, fragments and excretions of biological organisms. In recent years, the impact of biological aerosol particles on atmospheric processes has been studied with increasing intensity, and a wealth of new information and insights has been gained. This review outlines the current knowledge on major categories of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP): bacteria and archaea, fungal spores and fragments, pollen, viruses, algae and cyanobacteria, biological crusts and lichens and others like plant or animal fragments and detritus. We give an overview of sampling methods and physical, chemical and biological techniques for PBAP analysis (cultivation, microscopy, DNA/RNA analysis, chemical tracers, optical and mass spectrometry, etc.). Moreover, we address and summarise the current understanding and open questions concerning the influence of PBAP on the atmosphere and climate, i.e. their optical properties and their ability to act as ice nuclei (IN) or cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). We suggest that the following research activities should be pursued in future studies of atmospheric biological aerosol particles: (1) develop efficient and reliable analytical techniques for the identification and quantification of PBAP; (2) apply advanced and standardised techniques to determine the abundance and diversity of PBAP and their seasonal variation at regional and global scales (atmospheric biogeography); (3) determine the emission rates, optical properties, IN and CCN activity of PBAP in field measurements and laboratory experiments; (4) use field and laboratory data to constrain numerical models of atmospheric transport, transformation and climate effects of PBAP. Keywords: primary biological atmospheric aerosol; climate; cloud condensation nuclei; biology; atmospheric ice nuclei (Published: 22 February 2012) Citation: Tellus B 2012, 64 , 15598, DOI: 10.3402/tellusb.v64i0.15598

1,034 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Measurements of the concentrations of airborne material near dominant sources are reviewed for both area sources, and for point sources such as sewage and waste treatment works, agricultural practices, and diseased animals.

730 citations

01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: An integrated national programme for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes is under development in India as mentioned in this paper, with a focus on increasing resource allocation, coordinating multisectoral policy interventions, and enhancing the engagement of the health system in activities related to chronic disease prevention and controlling.
Abstract: At the present stage of India's health transition, chronic diseases contribute to an estimated 53% of deaths and 44% of disability-adjusted life-years lost. Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are highly prevalent in urban areas. Tobacco-related cancers account for a large proportion of all cancers. Tobacco consumption, in diverse smoked and smokeless forms, is common, especially among the poor and rural population segments. Hypertension and dyslipidaemia, although common, are inadequately detected and treated. Demographic and socioeconomic factors are hastening the health transition, with sharp escalation of chronic disease burdens expected over the next 20 years. A national cancer control programme, initiated in 1975, has established 13 registries and increased the capacity for treatment. A comprehensive law for tobacco control was enacted in 2003. An integrated national programme for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes is under development. There is a need to increase resource allocation, coordinate multisectoral policy interventions, and enhance the engagement of the health system in activities related to chronic disease prevention and control.

602 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: There is a need to increase resource allocation, coordinate multisectoral policy interventions, and enhance the engagement of the health system in activities related to chronic disease prevention and control.

516 citations