Assessment of Airborne Culturable Fungal Load in an Indoor Environment of Dormitory Rooms: The Case of University of Gondar Student’s Dormitory Rooms, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Pollution caused by fungal contamination on building materials contributes to poor indoor air quality. Fungi are known to cause several health-related problems, such as acute toxicity, hypersensitivity, invasive mycoses, and respiratory problems. Thus, this study aimed to determine the load and diversity of airborne culturable fungi in the dormitory rooms. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2019 at the University of Gondar students’ dormitory rooms. Statistical analyses were carried out using Stata/SE 14.0. Spearman ranks correlation was used to assess the correlation of fungal load with indoor physical parameters. The median fungal loads were 250 CFU/m3 and 157 CFU/m3 in the morning and afternoon, respectively. Most commonly identified fungal genera/species were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Candida, Trichophyton, Piedraia, Microsporum, Geotrichum, Saccharomyces, Rhodotorula, Rhizopus, Exophiala, Arthroderma, Cladosporium, Gliocladium, and Botrytis. Formaldehyde (r = −0.2859, P =.0031), temperature (r = −0.2153, P =.0274), and CO2 (r = −0.3785, P =.0001) were negatively correlated with airborne indoor fungal load in the morning and CO2 (r = 0.3183, P =.0009) and temperature (r = 0.2046, P =.0363) positively correlated with airborne indoor fungal load in the afternoon. As a conclusion, the airborne fungal load in the dormitory room was intermediate according to the European standard of nonindustrial premises. Substantial action should be taken to reduce the fungal contamination of indoor environments.