A Six-Year Airborne Fungal Spore Calendar for a City in the Sonoran Desert, Mexico: Implications for Human Health.

Abstract

Fungal spore calendars for Mexico are non-existent. This research represents the first fungal spore concentration data in the atmosphere of Hermosillo, Mexico, a city in the Sonoran Desert with high rates of allergies and public health problems. We used standardized sampling techniques frequently used by aerobiologists, including a Burkard spore trap to monitor airborne fungal spores daily for 2016-2019 and 2022-2023. Results are expressed as daily fungal spore concentrations in air (spores/m³ air). The most common fungal outdoor spores corresponded to Cladosporium (44%), Ascospora (17%), Smut (14%), Alternaria (12%), and Diatrypaceae (7%) of the total 6-year data. High minimum temperatures produce an increase in the most important spores in the air (Cladosporium and Alternaria), whereas precipitation increases Ascospore concentrations. The most important peak of fungal spore concentration in the air is recorded during summer-fall in all cases. Airborne fungal spores at Hermosillo had a greater impact on human health. These data will be of great help for the prevention, diagnostics, and treatment of seasonal allergies in the population and for the agricultural sector that has problems with some pathogens of their crops caused by fungus.