19.aeromicrobiology of hospitals in kanchipuram municipality

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J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit. il(t) l7- 24(ZOOI)@ Palani Paramount Publications-printed in India

AEROMICROBIOLOGY OF' HOSPITALS INMUNICIPALITY

\

ISSN: 0971-0965-l l-01 - I 7

KANCHIPURAM

B ANNADURAI@O M SHANMUGAM * VELMURUGAN S ANDV FREDERICK $

oonpenn mxr oF BorANy AND BIocI{EMISTRy, c.A.rI. coLLEGEMELVISIIARAM 63 I 509, INDIA

soEpARTrmxrm oF AppLIED MICRoBIoLocyKANCHI SRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

*oEpARmmIrI oF APPLIED ZooLoGY, KI]VEMPU LINTVERSITY, B.R. PROJECT,SHIMOGA DISTRICT, KARNATAKA, INDIA.

ABSTRACT

An attempt is made.from August 1999 to February 2000 to study the indoor air microflora ofGovemment hospitals and piivate hospitals of Kanchipuram town and the samples collected were grown andanalysed. Nearly 50 species were prevalent in this area. The percent contribution ofindividual sf,ore typesrevealed that the predominant species were I spergillas, Alternaria, Curtularia, Periconia and Drescleria.A large proportion of this species belong lo Aspergillus, and Penicillium, and these are regarded as a commonculturable molds present in the atmosphere of Kanchipuram environments.

Key words: Aerobiology, I spergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cur-wlaria, Periconia. Drescleria.

INTRODUCTION

Bioaerosol particles are almost always present in outdoor air although theiroomposition and concentration changes with time of day, seasons, climate and geographicallocation. Most Bioacerosol particles are pollen grains and fungal spores but some may bebacti:ria, algae, viruses and plant spores. Inhaled spores can cause a number of respiratorydisorders in humans, such as, allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma and allergic alvolitis. Lr addition,some fungal species are primary pathogens, invading through the respiratory tract and otherscan act as secondarypathogens.

Allergic diseases, especially of the respiratory tract are common in India. About5% ofthe Indianpopulation suffer from nasobronchial allergy and aeroallergens. Thus preciseknowledge ofmole spore diskibution in the atmosphere is essential for accurate diagnosisandproperkeatnentofpatients. hritially, airmicrofloraofanagriculturalfarmwas investigatedwith a Burkard Sampler by Krishnamoorthy (1978) by exposing nutrient plates. Thesewere followed by a detailed survey of airbom molds in Madras city and neighbouring ruralareaby Krishnamoorthy (1983) with cylindertraps. Simultaneously, he also investigated

BANNADTJRAI ET.4L

circadieur and seasonalperiodically of air spora. These str-rdies rverc exteuded to Mushrootr-t

house and lzrboratories (Venugopal 1991), Por.rltry houses (Mani 1992). and libritries(Nadilnutl-u"i 1993). -fhesewercinvestigatedbyusingvolumetricsanrplerssuchzrsAndersen

sanrpler and Burkard personal sampler.

Tl-re population ofbiologicalparlicles suspended in airhas been nanrecl as 'air spora"

by Grcgorv ( 1952). Michae 1 first recorded the release into tl're air of a range of firngerl

sporL-s but there u,ere t-erv detailed studies until the nineteenth ccntLlry (Ainsu,'orth I (,)76 )

Pastcur ( l8(r l ) rvas perhaps the first to sample pafiicles suspeuded in air inclr"rcling firngal

spores, yeast and bacteria. One ofthe most irnportant ofthe early studies w'as can ied out

i;y Cunningham ( 1 873 ) rvho undertook experiments to detetmine r,vhether a corre latiotr

cotrlcl be cstablished betw een the daily spore content of the atnrospl"rcre and tlre rncicleuce ofcholera and other levers rn tl, e jails of ti-re Calcutta. Blzrcksley ( 1873) clescribed svntptoms

caused b1, inhaling 'odours' frour Chaetotnium and spores from 'Pcrric illiutn gluttt'trrtt'.

The second irnpofiant contribution to aerobiology ir-r lndia was r-ade by Mehta ( 1952) u{ro

studied the disser-nination of uredospores of cereal rusts using aeroscope ar-rd kites.

Royes ( 1987) investigated some contponents ofthe air spora in Jantaica and their

pcssible rnedical applications. Aercmycology ofJabalpur was str-rclied by Vemra ard Kl.rare

1 I 988)" Aerobiologrcal investigation were undeftaken by Sliul<la anci Srivastava ( 1989)

inside the sugar factories of Gonda district Cadman (1991) str-rdrcd the air spora of.lohannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa the possibility for forecasting the occunence olscasonal allergens was investrgated usir-rg r-r-rLrltiple stepwise regressiot't ar-ralysis. Airspora

were collected with Burkarcl traps dr-rring 1987 and 1988. Datta et al(1991)conductedaerobiological studies at Gwal ior.

Seasonal vadation ofoutdoorviable n-ricroflrngi in Copenhagcn. Dentnark'"vas studied

by Larsen andGravesen (1991). Par-rdaand Behera(1991) studiedthe seasonalincider.rce

and succession offungal spores in air after rainfall. Cornparative study about air-born spores

in Cagliari and Perugia w'as stuciied by Mar-rro er ul (1992). Shaheer.r (1992) str-rdied tlie

aeronlycology of A-nrnan area. Jordan. SLu-vey of airbom allergenic fungai sporcs at Aligarh

was conducted by Yasmeen and Saxena (1992) fi-om Jan-Dec.1990. Femandez-Ger.rdalaz

et al (1993) studied the airborne pollen eurd spores of Leori (Spain). Survey of airborne

culturable and non-culturable fungi at different sites in Delhi metropolrs was conducted b-v

Gupta et al (1993).

Helntroos ( 1993) studied the relationship between airborne fr-urgal spore presence

andrveatlrervariabieinStockl'rolm(Swedcn). Joeletol(1993)studiedtheseasonalvzriation

Journal of Ecotoxicology Environmental MontS tng

AEROMICROBIOLOGY OF HOSPITALS

ip the air bom ftlngal spore population of East of France. Oliveria er rrl ( 1 993) lnvestigated

the ailborne fungi isolated from Natal, state of Rio Grande Do Nor1e. Brazil, dttring a otre

year period. Dames et ul (1994) studied tl-re air spora of Durban: A subtropical. coastal

South African city.

Halvagy ( 1 994) studied the fungal air spore of KLrwait City. Continltous san-rpling

ofairsporeinKuwaitCitywascarriedoutdailyoveraperiodof I2years,41 sporetypes

r.vere identified. Li et al (1944)investigated the functional relationship betrveen ait'bome

fungal spores and environn-rental factors in Kitcl-rener-Waterloo, Ontario as detected b1'

canonical correspondence analysis. Air sampling ofNirrradganj area at Jabafuurwas done

fio1r 1611-r Septerlber 1988 to 30th December i 988 using Rotorod air sampler atld exposirrg '

petri plates for 15 days. Tirvari et ttl (7995) observed the airmicroflora of greetl house itr

Botanical Garden of Govemment Science College, Raipur. Air sarnpling using Rotorod air

samplers r,vas condncted by Tze-Ming M o et ctl (1995) in the Institute of Medical Research-

Kula|-u1pur, Malaysia, Li De-Wei ( 1996) fbund out the functional and causal relatiorlships

berrveen incloor and outdoor airborne fr-urgi at Canada. Richardsor-r (1996) noted thc

occLrr-repcc of airborne L)idt'nrcllu spores in Edinburgh. Concentratiort of Didyrnella

rrscospores. a caLrse of iate sulruler asthma, reached peaks of 4400 tnr in urbatl Edinbr-rrgh.

The present i nvesti gati otr repofi s air rnicrofl ora of Kanchipllram hospital s.

N{A'f ERIALS AND IVIETHOD

Arr sarnpling of Kanchipurarr-r hospitals was con-imenced on August 1999 and continucd till Fcbruarr

200t) b,r, exposrng pctriplates with thc trvo different mcdia rvisc Zok nalt extract agar and Dcrtr-rascl irgar to sct

volunrctric intbrrlation on'thc culturable nrolds prcsent in the atmosphcre.

Cleaning of glasswares prepalation of glassware for sterilisation. stcrilisation, potilto clcxtrosc agat'

trl,ptophap 6roth. Tyrosine-cacsin nitrate agar, Watct'agar. Mycelial dry rveight dctcrntination and ilrcr,rbation, sttt-r

culrrrling ald Statistical analysis werc done according to Annadurai et al (19()(t,1 998, 1 999, 2000)

Spore trapping techniques: Potato Dcxtrose Agar nredia was used lor indoor air salnpling tlrroughout this

investigation. Stcrilizecl PDA pelri platcs u,cre l<ept at different places in the hospital indoor cnr.'irotrs trnd thc

culturc u,as analyzcd.

Sampler shcdule: Arr sampling u,as carried mostly between 10.30 - I1.30 atrr Air rvas sarlrpled in opcratiorr

thcatrcs. Injection roont and Doctors room on the sanre day at an interval of I 5 rlrts. The duration ol sanrpling at

each site $,as 5 rrinLltes. Altogcther l2 sanrples u,ere taken at cach site, approximately at t\!o-\\'eeh intcrvals during

August to Fcbruary 2000.

Conyersion of counts to m3 of air: Thc colony counts were convertcd to cubic lreter of arr by nlLrltiplyrn-e u'rth

an approprratc ntultiplication factor and exprcsscd as colony forming units/cttbic nrctcr of air (CFU/nrr). Thc

rnultrplication factor is calculated as follorvs:Amotlnt of ait' sarnpled - 28 nrl / minute.

Duration of each sampling : 5 nrinutes

Amottnt of air sanrpled in 5 nrinutes:28 r 5 : 140 ml

Journal of Ecotoxicology Environmental Monitoiing

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l9

)

n BANNADURAI ETAL

):_ :lllylll_-:1:_llo'",ouar species

----- x 100

Total no. of CFU/mr of all species

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1 shows various hospitals in Kanchipuram Municipality. There ar-e nearly 1 1hospitals. out ofwhich one Government Head Quarters Hospital started in 1g63. other1 0 hospitals are privately managed hospitals.

Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring

Let numbcr ofcolonies recorded: xThc total numbcr of colonies / nrr or air: (1000* x )i 140

Preparation of data: while describing the results two terms viz. periodicity of occurrence. and percentagc occurrencehavebeenusedthroughoutthetext. Theperiodicityofoccurrencereferstonumberofsamplingsinrvhichamicrobeappeared hs against I 2 total sarnplings ai each site. the percentage occurrence is calculated as fol.lows:

M.S. Hospital t970

Manoharan Hospitai lgg l

Narne ofthe Hospitai

C.S.l. Hospital

Lal<shnri Hospital

VengLrdi Hospital

Area ofIocation

Vaikunda perunral TempleHospital Road,BigKanchipuram

Railway RoadNear Tarril Nadu HotelBig Kanchipuranr.Hospital Road

Near Bus standBig Kanchipr-rrarn

Nellukara StreetNear Kacheeswarn TempleBig I(anchipuranr

Ycar

I 988

1999

l-902 Karnarajar StreetGandhi Road.Neal PachaiyappasWorlen's CoilegcKanch ipr_rrarn-2

Coverage Area

l. Dr. Ambedkar Nagar,2. Ashok Nagar3. Mahendra Pallavan Nagar4. Min Nagar5. M.G.R. Nagar6. Tirul<ali Medu

l. Mamallan Nagar2. Railway Road3. Sakupet4. Pookadai Sathiranr5. Arnbedkar Nagar

l . Nellukara Strcet2. Mettu Strect3. East RajLr Street

l. Vani Street2. Nellukara Street3. Kaliarr-rnran l(oil Street4. Mandeeshwaran Strect5. Pandavaperuntal Koil Street6. Ul<kapirandan Srreet

1 . Yadartha Amnran Koil karai Street2. A.K.T. Nambi Strcet3. Kotran-rbal Street4. Bava Street5. Vilakadi Koil Strcet

I


D K K Hospital Nadu TheruBig Kanchipuram

Vallal

Pachiayappan Street

Kanchipuram-2

East Rajaveedhi

Big Kanchipuram

1. Nadu theru2. Gandhi road

3. Centre of Kanchipuram

1. Mettu Street

2. Karakaliyaman Street

3. Collector office4. Pillaiyar palayam

1. Vaikunda Perumal Koil Street

2. Sappanipillaiyar Koil Street

3. Kamatchiamman Koil Street

4. Shankara Madam5. Egambaranadhar Koil Street

L Vani Street

2. Nellukara Street

3. Putheri theru

l. Vani Street

2. Nellukara Street

3. Kamatchiamman Koil Street

4. Putheri Street

I . Vaikunda Perumal Koil Street

2. Railway Road

3. Ambedkar Nagar4. Min Nagar5. Mamallan Nagar

6. East Raja Street

Kumaran Hospital 1993

M.S-D. Hospital 1998

Shanker Eye Hospital 1982 Nellukara Street

Big Kanchipuram

Nellukara Street

Big KanchipuramRegavan Hospital 1970

Govt. Head

Quarters HospitalI 863 Near Bus stand

Hospital Road,

Big Kanchipuram

Data onnature andconcentrations ofr,iablemolds inthe indoor environment ofhospitals inIndia is meagre. The indoor environment of govemment hospitals and private hospitals isheavily contaminated with airtome dust. Since pilgrims of various parts of the world frequentlyvisitKanchipuram from timeimmemorial, various diseases hasbeenreported inthis place.

The oldest hospital in the state here was started in 1 863. Microbial diversity reveals variousdiseases that are common in this area. The data obtained from rainfall humidity andtemperature, are favourable for the growth ofmicroorgarrisms.

Since there is no sufficient drainage facilities the environmental temperature favours'

the growth of Yibrio cholera, Salmonqlla typhi, Salmonella paratyphi A and B are

infected to the people living near sewage\ As it is reported in Geneva, Pa ratyphi C is not

2l


Table 2 Percentage contribution of air microflora of hospitals in Kanchipuram municipalty

Microbes/species Percentage(%)

Microbes/species Percentage(%)

D BANNADURAT ETAL

MucorRhizopus

AlternariaAspergillus

A. flavusA.nigerA japctnicus

A.candidus

A.fumigatus. A.glaucus

A.nidulansA versicolorA.or1t2ss

AflavicepsA. ornatusA. terraeus

A. carneus

Candida albicansPenicill.iunt

P.citrinu.nt

P.chrysogenum

Fusariun.

CladosporittmCurtulariaIlelminthosporiuntPu.ccinia

Geotrichum

12.5

2.s

3.5

3.25

3.85

2.65

2.t51.15

1.65

1.25

I .85

1.25

1.75

1. l51.25

t.25

1.15

2.2

1.75

1.65

r.85

2.75

|.752.2

0.25

0.35

0. r5

Rhodotorula 0.45Aureobasidium 0.32

Neurospora 0.65Dreschslera 0.65Ganoderma 1.2

Leptosphaeria 0.35

Coprinus 0.25

Polythrincium 0,65Nigrospora 1.75

Curvularia 2.75

Didynella spores 0. l5Periconia 0.35

Botrltdiplodia L30Catarrhusaestivus 1.75

Chaetomium 1.65

Haplospora 0.'/5Trichothecium 0.85

Pseudomonas spp. 2.35

Proteus spp 2.75

Staplrylococcus spp. 2.94

Streptococcusspp. 1.60

Acetobacter 2.20

Klebsiella pnemoniae 2.15

Micrococcus 1.85

Bacilhts 1.75

Actinontycetes 1.80

Lactobacillus 0.75

found here which is epidemic to Geneva . But S almonella paratyphi B rs often infecting the

people. ThepigsinthesludgeandareasofKanchipuramtransferNesseriamefffnjitisandViral meningitis. In the low lying sewage area, Pseltdomonas sp. Proteus sp. and Bacillus

sp is reported. Skin disorders and various skin diseases. Frorn this, it is concluded that the

dermatophytes and opportunistic mycoses is prevalent in this area'

A single genu s, Aspergillus is common and abundant in hospital environs. Pencillium

ard, Alternaria sp.which occur more frequently next to l,1p ergillus occupy second position

in the order of dominance. This results are in agreement with the results of Tiwan et al(1985) and Royes et al (1987).



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19.aeromicrobiology of hospitals in kanchipuram municipality

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