Indoor and Built Environment

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to register and gain free access

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Adhikari, A.
Right arrow Articles by Chanda, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Indoor and Built Environment, Vol. 8, No. 4, 221-229 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X9900800403

Studies on Airborne Fungal Spores from Two Indoor Cowsheds of Suburban and Rural Areas of West Bengal, India

Atin Adhikari

Division of Palynology and Environmental Biology, Department of Botany, Bose Institute, Calcutta, India

Moon Moon Sen

Division of Palynology and Environmental Biology, Department of Botany, Bose Institute, Calcutta, India

Swati Gupta-Bhattacharya

Division of Palynology and Environmental Biology, Department of Botany, Bose Institute, Calcutta, India

Sunirmal Chanda

Division of Palynology and Environmental Biology, Department of Botany, Bose Institute, Calcutta, India

Indian cowsheds are generally places with high humidity where raw and decomposing cow- dung, straw, livestock foods, and other materials provide suitable substrates for the growth of fungi. The frequency of appearance and concentration of airborne fungal spores from two indoor cowsheds, one suburban (Kestapur) and the other from a rural area (Konnagar) in West Bengal, have been record ed and measured. A total of 29 airborne spore types were recorded from the rural cowshed and a total of 24 from the suburban area. In both places a relatively high fre quency of Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus/Penicillium group, Periconia sp., Nigrospora sp., and some unidenti fied ascospores and basidiospores were recorded. To identify viable airborne fungal spores, Petri plates with Czapec-Dox agar medium were exposed at the same time in each place. Results obtained showed a preva lence of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Cla dosporium cladosporioides. Meteorological factors were compared at the two sites and statistically correlated with the records of both culturable and non-culturable mould spores to find out their impact on spore release and dispersal. Skin-prick tests were performed with anti genic extracts prepared from the mass culture of fungi on people who were either occupationally involved or used to visit the sheds. These tests revealed several instances of high level of allergenicity.

Key Words: Cowshed • Occupational health • Aerobiology • Airborne fungi • Respiratory allergy • Fungal spores


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?