Original Research

Identification allergen Cladosporium spores concentration in the ambient of Ahvaz wastewater treatment plant and their relationship with meteorological variables, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Airborne Cladosporium spores in different regions of the world are known as the main cause of allergic diseases. This study aimed to identify the Cladosporium species airborne fungi in Ahvaz wastewater treatment plant area and its adjacent places and check the effect of some meteorological parameters on their emissions.
Materials and methods: Cladosporium spores were cultured on Sabouraud`s dextrose agar (SDA) medium in both cold and warm seasons. The passive sampling method was performed and after incubation, colonies were counted as CFU/Plate/h. Then, according to the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the genus, the fungal was studied. The meteorological parameters including temperature, humidity, air pressure, dew point, wind speed, and ultraviolet index were measured.
Results: At least, 3358 colonies were counted. 1433 colonies were related to the Cladosporium species. The amount of Cladosporium in indoor air was 46% of the total Cladosporium. The average of meteorological parameters includes temperature, humidity, air pressure, dew point, wind speed and UV index during the study were 27.8 °C, 32.9%, 548.7 °Kpa, 3.6°, 9.1 km / h and 3.9 respectively. 42.6% of the total number of colonies was related to the Cladosporium species. Cladospiromes had a direct correlation with the dew point, temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, and ultraviolet index (Pvalue<0.05). Primary sludge dewatering has the greatest role in the Cladosporium spores emission.
Conclusion: Considering the importance of Cladosporium spores in the appearance of allergic diseases, and given that wastewater treatment workers spend most of their time outside, observing health and preventive measures is necessary in this regard.

1. Korzeniewska E. Emission of bacteria and fungi in the air from wastewater treatment plants—a review. Front Biosci (Schol Ed). 2011;3:393-407.
2. Massoudinejad MR, Ghajari A, Hezarkhani N, Aliyari A. Survey of Fungi Bioaerosols in ICU ward of Taleghani Hospital in Tehran by Petri-dish trapping technique and Bioaerosol Sampler in 2013. Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention. 2015;3(3):147-54.
3. Valipour F, Rezaee A, Jonidi JA, Khavanin A. Adsorption Of Workplace Bioaerosols Using Iranian Natural Zeolite. 2013.
4. Fabian M, Miller S, Reponen T, Hernandez MT. Ambient bioaerosol indices for indoor air quality assessments of flood reclamation. Journal of Aerosol Science. 2005;36(5-6):763-83.
5. Çeter T, Pınar NM. Ankara havasında bulunan fungus sporlarının cinsleri ve bunların meteorolojik faktörlerle değişimi (Tez). Ankara: Ankara Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü. 2004.
6. Gergen PJ, Turkeltaub PC, Kovar MG. The prevalence of allergic skin test reactivity to eight common aeroallergens in the US population: results from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 1987;80(5):669-79.
7. Boyacioglu H, Haliki A, Ates M, Guvensen A, Abaci Ö. The statistical investigation on airborne fungi and pollen grains of atmosphere in Izmir-Turkey. Environmental monitoring and assessment. 2007;135(1-3):327-34.
8. Frost A. Frequency of allergy to Alternaria and Cladosporium in a specialist clinic. Allergy. 1988;43(7):504-7.
9. Fathi S, Hajizadeh Y, Nikaeen M, Gorbani M. Assessment of microbial aerosol emissions in an urban wastewater treatment plant operated with activated sludge process. Aerobiologia. 2017;33(4):507-15.
10. Niazi S, Hassanvand MS, Mahvi AH, Nabizadeh R, Alimohammadi M, Nabavi S, et al. Assessment of bioaerosol contamination (bacteria and fungi) in the largest urban wastewater treatment plant in the Middle East. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2015;22(20):16014-21.
11. Topbaş M, Tosun I, Çan G, Kaklikkaya N, Aydin F. Identification and seasonal distribution of airborne fungi in urban outdoor air in an eastern Black Sea Turkish town. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences. 2006;36(1):31-6.
12. Hollins P, Kettlewell P, Atkinson M, Stephenson D, Corden J, Millington W, et al. Relationships between airborne fungal spore concentration of Cladosporium and the summer climate at two sites in Britain. International Journal of Biometeorology. 2004;48(3):137-41.
13. Kallawicha K, Chuang Y-C, Lung S-CC, Wu C-F, Han B-C, Ting Y-F, et al. Outpatient visits for allergic diseases are associated with exposure to ambient fungal spores in the greater Taipei area. Aerosol and Air Quality Research. 2018;18(8):2077-85.
14. Available from: www3.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/ambient/PM25/calandar2018.pdf.
15. Hameed AA, Khoder M, Yuosra S, Osman A, Ghanem S. Diurnal distribution of airborne bacteria and fungi in the atmosphere of Helwan area, Egypt. Science of the Total Environment. 2009;407(24):6217-22.
16. Available from: www.AccuWeather.com.
17. Kim K-Y, Kim H-T, Kim D, Nakajima J, Higuchi T. Distribution characteristics of airborne bacteria and fungi in the feedstuff-manufacturing factories. Journal of hazardous materials. 2009;169(1-3):1054-60.
18. Asefa DT, Langsrud S, Gjerde RO, Kure CF, Sidhu MS, Nesbakken T, et al. The performance of SAS-super-180 air sampler and settle plates for assessing viable fungal particles in the air of dry-cured meat production facility. Food Control. 2009;20(11):997-1001.
19. Gniadek A, Macura AB, Oksiejczuk E, Krajewska-Kułak E, Łukaszuk C. Fungi in the air of selected social welfare homes in the Małopolskie and Podlaskie provinces–a comparative study. International biodeterioration & biodegradation. 2005;55(2):85-91.
20. Michałkiewicz M. Comparison of wastewater treatment plants based on the emissions of microbiological contaminants. Environmental monitoring and assessment. 2018;190(11):640.
21. Kermani M, Dehghani A, Farzadkia M, Nadafi K, Bahrami Asl F, Zeinalzadeh D. Investigation of airborne bactria and fungi in Tehran’s Shahrake Ghods WWTP and its association with environmental parameters. Journal of Health. 2015;6(1):57-68.
22. Li J, Zhou L, Zhang X, Xu C, Dong L, Yao M. Bioaerosol emissions and detection of airborne antibiotic resistance genes from a wastewater treatment plant. Atmospheric environment. 2016;124:404-12.
23. Kızılpınar İ, Doğan C. Allergen Alternaria and Cladosporium Spores Concentration in the Atmosphere of Çamkoru (Ankara-Turkey), 2003-2004. Hacettepe Journal of Biology and Chemistry. 2011;39:427-34.
24. Peternel R, Culig J, Hrga I. Atmospheric concentrations of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. sporesin Zagreb (Croatia) and effects of some meteorological factors. Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine. 2004;11(2):303-7.
25. Grinn-Gofroń A, Rapiejko P. Occurrence of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. spores in Western, Northern and Central-Eastern Poland in 2004–2006 and relation to some meteorological factors. Atmospheric Research. 2009;93(4):747-58.
26. Oliveira M, Ribeiro H, Delgado J, Abreu I. The effects of meteorological factors on airborne fungal spore concentration in two areas differing in urbanisation level. International journal of biometeorology. 2009;53(1):61-73.
27. Ababutain IM. Aeromycoflora of some eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia. Indoor and Built Environment. 2013;22(2):388-94.
28. Sabariego S, De La Guardia CD, Alba F. The effect of meteorological factors on the daily variation of airborne fungal spores in Granada (southern Spain). International Journal of Biometeorology. 2000;44(1):1-5.
29. Al-Suwaine A, Bahkali A, Hasnain S. Seasonal incidence of airborne fungal allergens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Mycopathologia. 1999;145(1):15-22.
30. Cosentino S, Pisano P, Fadda ME, Palmas F. Pollen and mold allergy: aerobiologic survey in the atmosphere of Cagliari, Italy (1986-1988). Annals of Allergy. 1990;65(5):393-400.
Files
IssueVol 4 No 4 (2019): Autumn 2019 QRcode
SectionOriginal Research
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v4i4.2199
Keywords
Bioaerosol Cladosporium Meteorological parameters Wastewater Treatment Plant
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Talepour N, Hassanvand MS, Abbasi Montazeri E, Latifi SM, Jaafarzadeh Haghighi Fard N. Identification allergen Cladosporium spores concentration in the ambient of Ahvaz wastewater treatment plant and their relationship with meteorological variables, Ahvaz, Iran. JAPH. 2019;4(4):253-260.