Dustborne vs Airborne Fungi in Domestic Environments

By: Esmeralda Sandoval

In recent years, poor aeration is a major cause of increasing microbial concentrations in domestic environments because of limited air exchange and removal of indoor pollutants due to windows not being left open in efforts to maintain comfortable climate conditions indoors. Dust serves as reservoir for fungi, allowing it to proliferate in high humidity conditions by using its organic matter. The dustborne fungi can then be suspended into the air and become airborne. In this study conducted by Pyrri and colleagues, fungal concentration were examined from the air and dust during the winter and summer months to determine the negative implications posed to human health. The results showed that fungal concentrations were higher in the summer, averaging at 931 CFU m-3 in the air, than in the winter, averaging at 739 CFU m-3. These concentrations are higher than the suggested level by the World Health Organization (WHO), 150 CFU m-3. These results indicate that when dust is not frequently removed, fungal concentrations increase allergen and pathogen exposure to humans.

Concentration of dustborne, expressed in CFU m−2, and airborne, expressed in CFU m−3 fungal exposure levels during the winter and summer. Figure taken from Pyrri et al. 2023.

Original Article:

Pyrri, I., Stamatelopoulou, A., Pardali, D., & Maggos, T. (2023). The air and Dust Invisible mycobiome of urban domestic environments. Science of The Total Environment, 904, 166228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166228