Study of the Indoor Air Quality in Hospitals in South Chennai, India — Microbial Profile

A 3-month pilot study (February—April 2006) was conducted to determine the quality of indoor air in hospitals in the Tamil Nadu region of India and to characterize the predominant aerobic bacteria and fungi present. The main objectives were (1) to sample the indoor air of three different hospitals i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indoor + built environment 2008-10, Vol.17 (5), p.435-441
Main Authors: Sudharsanam, Suchithra, Srikanth, Padma, Sheela, Merline, Steinberg, Ralf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Aspergillus flavus
Aspergillus niger
Bacteria, Pathogenic
Control
Environmental aspects
Evaluation
Hospitals
India
Indoor air quality
Klebsiella
Molds (Fungi)
Pseudomonas
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Summary:A 3-month pilot study (February—April 2006) was conducted to determine the quality of indoor air in hospitals in the Tamil Nadu region of India and to characterize the predominant aerobic bacteria and fungi present. The main objectives were (1) to sample the indoor air of three different hospitals in Chennai for bioaerosols to generate baseline data using the Petri plate gravitational settling (passive) method of sampling; and (2) to isolate and identify potentially pathogenic organisms prevalent in the hospital environment. Indoor air samples were collected from various wards at the different hospitals and processed for the identification of various predominant bacteria and fungi. The overall counts of Gram-positive organisms were found to be higher than Gram-negative organisms. Of these isolates, Staphylococci and Micrococci were the predominant Gram-positive bacteria, while Klebsiella sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were the predominant potentially pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria isolated. Among yeasts and molds, Aspergillus niger and A. flavus were commonly isolated.
ISSN:1420-326X
1423-0070
DOI:10.1177/1420326X08095568