Occurrence and Frequency of Outdoor and Indoor Airborne Fungi of Suez General Hospital, Suez, Egypt

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the occurrence and frequency of fungi in the outdoor and indoor (reception and intensive care) air of Suez General Hospital as well as to investigate the antifungal activity of some volatile oils against isolated toxigenic species. Samples were collected through passive sedi-mentation using settle plate method. Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) plates were exposed to air and incubated at 28°C for 7 days. 39 species represents 13 fungal genera were isolated from the outdoor and indoor air and the most common genera were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Rhizopus. The total colony forming units of airborne fungi of the outdoor, reception, and intensive care unit (ICU) were 2063.25, 1395.15, and 884.25 CFU/m 3 , respectively. Aspergillus flavus recorded the highest occurrence with the highest frequency in the outdoor and indoor air and produced aflatoxins B 1 and B 2. Cinnamon essential oil showed high antifungal activity against the isolated toxigenic fungi and its fumigation inhibited the germination of spores of these fungi.