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Bioaerosol

About: Bioaerosol is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1347 publications have been published within this topic receiving 34791 citations.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The experimental results indicated that the NSS-coated filters have the potential to be used as effective antimicrobial air filters for decreasing environmental exposure to microbial contaminants.
Abstract: We developed an antimicrobial air filter using natural sea salt (NSS) particles. Airborne NSS particles were produced via an aerosol process and were continuously coated onto the surface of an air filter under various deposition times. The filtration efficiency and bactericidal performance of the NSS-coated filter against aerosolized bacterial particles (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli) were evaluated quantitatively. The filtration efficiency of the tested filter ranged from 95% to 99% depending on the deposition time, and the bactericidal performance demonstrated efficiencies of more than 98% against both tested bacterial bioaerosols when the NSS deposition ratio was more than 500 μg/cm2. The experimental results indicated that the NSS-coated filters have the potential to be used as effective antimicrobial air filters for decreasing environmental exposure to microbial contaminants.

13 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: The obtained results reveal that the sewage sludge is the main source of mould emission into the air at workplaces in wastewater treatment plants and it is suggested that personal protective equipment should be used by employees.
Abstract: BACKGROUND The quantitative assessment and qualitative identification of moulds at workplaces in wastewater treatment plants were the aim of the study. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out in four wastewater treatment plants, where 15 stationary points were selected according to mechanical, biological and sewage sludge treatment processes. In addition, background level samples from the city area were also collected. Bioaerosols were sampled with use of a Burkard Aerosol Sampler and directly put on Malt Extract Agar plates. Identification of moulds was based on morphological properties described in the professional literature. RESULTS The identified concentrations of moulds were low and ranged between 0.11 and 16.75 x 10(2) cfu/m3. The highest mean levels of fungal microflora were found during sewage sludge treatment processes. In total, there were 65 fungal isolates, of which 80% were found in wastewater treatment plants. In bioaerosol samples of the occupational origin, the highest (40%) amount of isolates originated from sewage sludge treatment processes and the lowest (25%) from biological treatment stages. In wastewater treatment plants, moulds of Aspergillus genus predominated and represented nearly 35% of all identified fungi. Comparing to background levels, the content of this genus was almost 4.5 times higher. Pathogenic Aspergillus fumigatus was found at all stages of wastewater treatment and Trichophyton genus at the stage of mechanical treatment. Moreover, there were numerous moulds of Mucor, Penicillium and Alternaria genera. In background samples moulds of Penicillium genus predominated and no pathogenic species were found. CONCLUSIONS The obtained results reveal that the sewage sludge is the main source of mould emission into the air at workplaces in wastewater treatment plants. On account of the presence of moulds with the evidenced infectious and allergic activity it is suggested that personal protective equipment should be used by employees.

13 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The simple animal model Caenorhabditis elegans was used to evaluate the pathogenicity of two isolates—Acinetobacter iwoffii and Micrococcus luteus—that showed multidrug-resistance and represents a starting point for the development of a multidisciplinary approach for the validation of bioaerosol exposure on WWTP workplaces.
Abstract: Wastewater carries different pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms that can be dispersed in the surrounding environment. Workers who frequent sewage treatment plants can therefore be exposed to aerosols that contain a high concentration of potentially dangerous biological agents, or they can come into direct contact with contaminated material. This can lead to allergies, infections and occupational health-associated diseases. A characterization of biological risk assessment of bioaerosol exposure is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of an interdisciplinary method that combines chemical and biological approaches for the analysis of a bioaerosol derived from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) situated in Italy. Sampled filters were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS spectroscopy that searched for different chemical biomarkers of airborne microorganisms. The analytical quantification was compared to the biological cultural method that revealed an underrated microbial concentration. Furthermore, next generation sequencing analysis was used also to identify the uncultivable species that were not detected by the culture dependent-method. Moreover, the simple animal model Caenorhabditis elegans was used to evaluate the pathogenicity of two isolates-Acinetobacter iwoffii and Micrococcus luteus-that showed multidrug-resistance. This work represents a starting point for the development of a multidisciplinary approach for the validation of bioaerosol exposure on WWTP workplaces.

13 citations

Book ChapterDOI
29 Aug 2011
TL;DR: Intensive poultry production, implying large densities of animals in small areas, is a significant source of air pollution which may constitute a considerable health hazard to the birds, farmers and those living in the proximity of the farm (Lonc & Plewa, 2009).
Abstract: Intensive poultry production, implying large densities of animals in small areas, is a significant source of air pollution which may constitute a considerable health hazard to the birds, farmers and those living in the proximity of the farm (Lonc & Plewa, 2009). On the other hand, the spread of bioaerosols on the outside of animal housing may result in local or even more extensive environmental pollution (Bakutis et al., 2004). Under commercial production the airborne particles will contain a mixture of biological material from a range of sources. The chickens produce large amounts of dust as a result of epithelial desquamation, as well as from feed, manure, faeces and litter (Matkovic et al., 2009). This dust consists of a variety of airborne particles of biological origin, i.e. bacteria, fungi, endotoxins (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria, 1.3-beta-glucan of fungi, fungal spores and mycelium fragments. Hence, a more descriptive term for these airborne particles is bioaerosol in which the microorganisms can occur either as liquid droplets or as dry particles [Dutkiewicz, 1987; Matkovic et al., 2009; Nevalainen, 2007]. In specific conditions, bioaerosols may show pathogenic, toxic or allergy-causing effects. The particles in a bioaerosol are generally 0.3 to 100 μm in diameter; however, the respirable size fraction of 1 to 10 μm is of primary concern. Bioaerosols, ranging in size from 1.0 to 5.0 μm, generally remain in the air, whereas larger particles are deposited on surfaces (Srikanth et al., 2008). Bioaerosol may contain representatives of Gram-positive bacteria: Corynebacterium, Staphyloccocus, Streptococcus, Micrococcus, Pantoea and Sarcina (Sieminski, 2001). Their presence in large numbers may present a significant immunological challenge to the human respiratory system. In dust are suspended also endotoxins (lipopolysaccharide complex LPS) associated with the outer membrane of Gram-negative pathogens, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Pseudomonas, Neisseria and Haemophilus influenzae. LPS is composed of two major parts, the hydrophobic lipid A and the hydrophilic polysaccharide part (commonly called the "O" region). Most biological effects of LPS are due to the lipid A part, however O-region plays an important role in effective colonisation of host tissues. Inhalation of organic dust contaminated by endotoxins may cause chronic bronchitis and inflammatory reaction in the lungs (Bakutis et al., 2004, Schierl et al., 2007, Pomorska et al., 2009).

13 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Methods for generating aerosols that reduced nuisance particles to negligible levels and increased the cell culturability of Mycobacterium abscessus by 30% and development of methods to remove culturable organisms from respirator filter media were developed.
Abstract: In preparation for filter efficiency tests and sampler comparison studies, methods of biological aerosol generation, sampling, and filter recovery were modified from previous studies. Methods described include (1) techniques for generating aerosols that reduced nuisance particles to negligible levels and increased the cell culturability of Mycobacterium abscessus by 30%, (2) sampling techniques that lowered the detectable range of biological particle size from 0.65 to 0.45 µm and reduced the sampling flow from the chamber from 28.3 to 1.5 L/min, and (3) development of methods to remove culturable organisms from respirator filter media. These methods were developed for filter challenge tests with M. abscessus and were applied to two other bacteria. They may also have application to a wider variety of organisms and bioaerosol assessments.

12 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
2023133
2022235
202195
202094
201989
201871