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Normal and dusty days comparison of culturable indoor airborne bacteria in Ahvaz, Iran

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Abstract

Important sources of chemical and biological indoor pollutants include outdoor air, the human body and human activities, emission from materials, furnishings, appliances and use of commodities. The main purpose of this study was to identify culturable indoor airborne bacteria in normal and dust event days in indoor environments of a school, a hospital and a university in Ahvaz city, which individuals such as children, teenagers, adolescences and old people had activity there. Samples were collected using the biostage sampler, an Andersen-based method, with a flow rate of 28.3 l/min, from July 2010 to March 2011. Temperature and humidity were measured and registered in each time of sampling. The identification of bacteria was performed to genus level by using appropriate methods and standard biochemical tests. Gram-positive bacteria in both normal and dust event days with more than 90 % had the highest concentration and frequency. Predominant bacteria in normal and dust event days were Staphylococcus spp. (72.9, 87.9 %), Streptomyces spp. (60.9, 62.1 %), Bacillus spp. (94, 89 %) and Micrococcus spp. (65.4, 71.2 %), respectively. The highest concentrations of bacteria in normal and dust event days were in winter. The range of bacteria in normal and dust event days were 0–4,800 and 210–10,000 cfu/m3, respectively. There was a significant difference between the concentration of bacteria in normal and dust event days (p = 0.001) and also a significant association was found between the concentration of total bacteria with temperature and humidity (p < 0.05). The concentration of bacteria in dust event days was 1.8 times higher than normal days. Consequently, the concentrations of bacteria in all three sampling sites were higher in dust event days than normal days indicating the impact of dust storms on increased bacterial concentration in indoor environment.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is issued from an integrated research of ETRC-9102 as a project number and M.Sc. thesis of Zahra Soleimani. Financial support of both was provided by Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health and Paramedical, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Aradan, Semnan, Iran

    Zahra Soleimani

  2. Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran

    Najmeh Parhizgari

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health Faculty, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Hassan Dehdari Rad

  4. Department of Statistics, Mathematical Science and Computer Faculty, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Akhoond

  5. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health Faculty, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Majid Kermani

  6. Expert of Environmental Research Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Rasht, Iran

    Mohammad Bagherian Marzouni

  7. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Hamed Goudarzi

  8. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health Faculty and Environmental Technologies Research Center (ETRC), Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Gholamreza Goudarzi

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  1. Zahra Soleimani
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  2. Najmeh Parhizgari
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  8. Gholamreza Goudarzi
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Correspondence to Gholamreza Goudarzi.

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Soleimani, Z., Parhizgari, N., Dehdari Rad, H. et al. Normal and dusty days comparison of culturable indoor airborne bacteria in Ahvaz, Iran. Aerobiologia 31, 127–141 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-014-9352-4

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