Monitoring of indoor microbial air quality of dental healthcare units in Lahore

IF 2.9 4区环境科学与生态学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Air Quality Atmosphere and Health Pub Date : 2025-03-14 DOI:10.1007/s11869-025-01725-4

Naseem Akhtar, Arifa Tahir, Moneeza Abbas, Abdul Qadir

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Abstract

Common indoor pollutants include biological particles and their byproducts, impacting people’s health and productivity. Biological pollutants can affect indoor air quality and cause nosocomial infections. This study aimed to isolate and identify the seasonal (monsoon/winter) quantity of culturable bioaerosols from the indoor air of dental healthcare units, implicating the health of inhabitants using an antibiotic resistance test. Bioaerosols were collected from ten dental healthcare units for indoor air quality assessment. Recommended morphological and biochemical tests were performed for microbial identifications. Maximum bacterial colonies were found near the mouth area (S2), while fungi exhibited a mixed trend at both S1(2 m away from patient’s oral cavity) and S2 (0.5 m; near patient’s oral cavity) areas. Airborne fungi and bacteria in both seasons showed average concentrations of 46–485 and 56-1091 CFU/m3, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus (26%) and Penicillium sp. (42%) were the dominant bacterial and fungal species. Based on the Global Index of Microbiological Contamination sanitary conditions, current results showed that the microbiological indoor air quality was within the “acceptable” range. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that winter was a more agile season for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The NFZIH33-strain of S. aureus found in winter showed the sturdiest results by delivering 90% antibiotic resistance, primarily to erythromycin. The number of microorganisms was strongly correlated (r = 0.7) with the number of occupants. The indoor presence of dental units was linked (r = 0.8 in monsoon while r = 0.5 in winter) with the abundance of microbial colonies. This research provides a solid foundation for assisting dentists to implement adequate precautions and protect against harmful bioaerosols.

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拉合尔牙科保健单位室内微生物空气质量监测

常见的室内污染物包括生物颗粒及其副产品，影响人们的健康和生产力。生物污染物可影响室内空气质量并引起医院感染。本研究旨在从牙科保健单位的室内空气中分离和鉴定季节性（季风/冬季）可培养生物气溶胶的数量，通过抗生素耐药性测试影响居民的健康。从十个牙科保健单位收集生物气溶胶进行室内空气质量评估。推荐进行微生物鉴定的形态学和生化试验。菌落最多的是口腔附近（S2），而真菌在S1（距离患者口腔2 m）和S2（距离患者口腔0.5 m）区域呈现混合趋势。两个季节空气中真菌和细菌的平均浓度分别为46 ~ 485和56 ~ 1091 CFU/m3。金黄色葡萄球菌（26%）和青霉属（42%）是优势菌种。根据全球微生物污染卫生条件指数，目前的结果显示，室内微生物空气质量处于“可接受”范围内。抗菌药物敏感性试验表明，冬季是耐药菌的活跃季节。在冬季发现的金黄色葡萄球菌nfzih33菌株表现出最坚固的结果，提供90%的抗生素耐药性，主要是红霉素。微生物数量与占用者数量呈显著正相关（r = 0.7）。室内牙科单位的存在与微生物菌落的丰度有关（雨季r = 0.8，冬季r = 0.5）。这项研究为协助牙医实施适当的预防措施和防止有害的生物气溶胶提供了坚实的基础。

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来源期刊

Air Quality Atmosphere and Health ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES-

CiteScore

8.80

自引率

2.00%

发文量

146

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Air Quality, Atmosphere, and Health is a multidisciplinary journal which, by its very name, illustrates the broad range of work it publishes and which focuses on atmospheric consequences of human activities and their implications for human and ecological health. It offers research papers, critical literature reviews and commentaries, as well as special issues devoted to topical subjects or themes. International in scope, the journal presents papers that inform and stimulate a global readership, as the topic addressed are global in their import. Consequently, we do not encourage submission of papers involving local data that relate to local problems. Unless they demonstrate wide applicability, these are better submitted to national or regional journals. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health addresses such topics as acid precipitation; airborne particulate matter; air quality monitoring and management; exposure assessment; risk assessment; indoor air quality; atmospheric chemistry; atmospheric modeling and prediction; air pollution climatology; climate change and air quality; air pollution measurement; atmospheric impact assessment; forest-fire emissions; atmospheric science; greenhouse gases; health and ecological effects; clean air technology; regional and global change and satellite measurements. This journal benefits a diverse audience of researchers, public health officials and policy makers addressing problems that call for solutions based in evidence from atmospheric and exposure assessment scientists, epidemiologists, and risk assessors. Publication in the journal affords the opportunity to reach beyond defined disciplinary niches to this broader readership.