Bio-Aerosols Variety and Concentration In different Hospital Wards of Miandoab City in Winter

Abstract

Backgrounds and Objectives: Exposing with bioaerosols can be resulted in widespread adverse health effects including infectious and epidemic diseases, acute toxicities, allergies and even cancer. From this point of view, bioaerosol contaminations in hospitals can cause various secondary health problems. This study was conducted to survey the quality and quantity of bioaerosols in various hospital wards in winter. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the air samples were collected and analyzed according to NIOSH-0800 standard method. Air samples were taken through single-stage impactor using a high volume sampler at 28.3 ±0.2 l/min flow rate during 10 minutes. Sabouraud dextrose agar and blood agar plates were used as sampling media within impactor for fungi and bacteria, respectively. Results: The obtained results showed that, in average, the infants ward in Fatemeh hospital and general clinic in Abbasi hospital had the most bacterial contamination load. In contrast, the operating rooms in Fatemeh hospital and radiology ward in Abbasi hospital had the lowest bacterial contamination load. The independent T-test showed that the bioaerosol contamination in Abbasi hospital was significantly higher than Fatemeh hospital. Also, the most detected fungi were Aspergillus, Penicillium and Cladosporium. Conclusion: This study indicated that the bioaerosol concentration in most wards of both hospitals exceeded the standard permissible limit (30 CFU/m3). Preventive control measures should be designated and implemented to decrease the exposure rate of patients and clients.