Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

An Analysis of the Current Status and Characteristics of Airborne Fungi in Indoor Air in Multi-Use Facilities Nationwide

전국 다중이용시설의 실내공기 부유 곰팡이의 현황 및 특성 분석

  • Park, Yongsung (Allergy Immunology Center, Korea University) ;
  • Kwon, Soonhyun (Allergy Immunology Center, Korea University) ;
  • Park, Song-Yi (Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University) ;
  • Kee, Sun-Ho (Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Korea University) ;
  • Yoon, Wonsuck (Allergy Immunology Center, Korea University)
  • 박용성 (고려대학교 알레르기면역연구소) ;
  • 권순현 (고려대학교 알레르기면역연구소) ;
  • 박송이 (고려대학교 의과대학 미생물학교실) ;
  • 기선호 (고려대학교 의과대학 미생물학교실) ;
  • 윤원석 (고려대학교 알레르기면역연구소)
  • Received : 2022.08.23
  • Accepted : 2022.10.13
  • Published : 2022.10.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Background: Airborne fungi are ubiquitous in the air and exposure to an airborne fungus can be a significant risk factor. The composition of fungi has been potentially important for human health, especially for respiratory diseases like asthma and atopic dermatitis. Therefore, we attempted to ascertain what kind of airborne fungi affect human health at a nationwide level. Objectives: This study was carried out to provide information on indoor fungi distribution at multi-use facilities throughout South Korea. Methods: We classified our data by region and public facility after collection, cultivation, and identification via the sequencing of the ITS (internal transcribed spacer) region. We investigated whether or not the proliferation of HaCaT cells was affected by the identified airborne fungi. Results: In our data, the most isolated airborne fungi by region were Penicillium spp (Seoul, Daegu), Periconia sp (Gyeonggi-do), Iprex sp (Gangwon-do), Phanerochaete sp (Busan), Bjerkandera sp (Gwangju), and Aspergillus sp (Jeju-do). In the public facilities, the most detected fungi were Cladosporium sp (public transport), Penicillium sp (apartment house, retail market, financial institution, karaoke room), Bjerokandera sp (underground parking lot, public toilet, medical institution), Periconia sp (retail store), and Fusarium sp (general restaurant). Next, we selected twenty airborne fungi to examine their cytotoxicity and proliferation of human skin cells. In this experiment, the proliferation of the cells was influenced by most of the identified fungi. In case of the cytotoxicity test, most genera except for Rhodotorula sp and Moesziomyces sp showed cytotoxicity in HaCaT cells. Conclusions: The distribution of mold in the indoor air in multi-use facilities in South Korea differs from region to region, and this is an indicator that should be considered in future health impact studies. In addition, as a result of culturing about 20 types of bacteria dominant in indoor air, it was found that most (90%) inhibit the growth of skin cells, which can be harmful to health. An in-depth study of the health effects of floating fungi is needed.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was also supported by Korea Environment Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) through Technology Development Project for Biological Hazards Management in Indoor Air, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (RQ202101495).

References

  1. Bang J, Jo S, Ji S, Sung M. Analysis on airborne mold infiltration into apartment buildings. Proc Annu Conf Archit Inst Korea. 2018; 38(1): 472-473.
  2. Cho Y, Ryu S, Choi M, Seo S, Choung J, Choi J. Airborne fungi concentrations and related factors in the home. J Environ Health Sci. 2013: 39(5): 438-446. https://doi.org/10.5668/JEHS.2013.39.5.438
  3. Hwang S, Hong S, Seok J, Yoon C. Seasonal and environmental influences on culturable airborne fungi levels in microbiology laboratories. J Environ Health Sci. 2016; 42(1): 19-26. https://doi.org/10.5668/JEHS.2016.42.1.19
  4. Kim C, Choi J, Shon M, Lee K, Kim K, Lee K. Distribution of fungus spores in the air of outdoor and indoor environments from September to November 1999 in Seoul, Korea. J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol. 2001; 21(5): 970-976.
  5. Lee C, Park G, Joo S, Yoon S, Goung S, Lee YJ, et al. Literature review for influential factors on species distribution of airborne fungi in indoor air. J Odor Indoor Environ. 2013; 10(3): 157-171.
  6. Korean Association of Air Conditioning Refrigerating and Sanitary Engineers. Public health act. J KARSE. 1986; 3(8): 94-102.
  7. Office for Government Policy Coordination. Basic Plan for Indoor Air Quality Management. Seoul: Office for Government Policy Coordination; 2004.
  8. Joen JI, Lee HW, Choi HJ, Jeon HJ, Lee C. The distribution of indoor air pollutants by the categories of public-use facilities and their rate of guideline violation. J Environ Health Sci. 2021; 47(5): 398-409. https://doi.org/10.5668/JEHS.2021.47.5.398
  9. Choi S. Indoor air quality: an overview of emission sources and control strategies. J Nakdonggang Environ Res Inst. 1996; 1(1): 113-134.
  10. Kim S. The status of Mold Contamination in indoor air. Air Clean Technol. 2008; 21(3): 20-31.
  11. Seo SC. Health effects of exposure to indoor mold and the levels of mold in facilities with susceptible populations in Korea. J Environ Health Sci. 2020; 46(4): 359-367.
  12. Seo SC. Development of environmental monitoring and response platform technology for indoor air biohazard factors. In: The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. editor. Abstracts Presented at the 63th KSIEC Meeting. Seoul: The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry; 2021. p.102-103.
  13. Yuan C, Wang X, Pecoraro L. Environmental factors shaping the diversity and spatial-temporal distribution of indoor and outdoor culturable airborne fungal communities in Tianjin University campus, Tianjin, China. Front Microbiol. 2022; 13: 928921. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.928921
  14. Ramachandran G, Adgate JL, Banerjee S, Church TR, Jones D, Fredrickson A, et al. Indoor air quality in two urban elementary schools--measurements of airborne fungi, carpet allergens, CO2, temperature, and relative humidity. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2005;2(11): 553-566. https://doi.org/10.1080/15459620500324453
  15. Kim K, Park J, Kim C, Lee K. Distribution of airborne fungi, particulate matter and carbon dioxide in Seoul metropolitan subway stations. J Prev Med Public Health. 2006; 39: 325-330.
  16. Kim R, Seo S, Kim J, Kim D. Generation characteristics of airborne fungi and fungal volatile organic compounds in single person households. J Odor Indoor Environ. 2017; 16(3): 259-264. https://doi.org/10.15250/joie.2017.16.3.259
  17. Lee S, Chung H, Park S, Choe B, Kim J, Lee B, et al. Identification and phylogenetic analysis of culturable bacteria in the Bioareosol from several environments. Microbiol Biotechnol Lett. 2015; 43(2): 142-149. https://doi.org/10.4014/mbl.1503.03008
  18. Rosenbaum PF, Crawford JA, Anagnost SE, Wang CJ, Hunt A, Anbar RD, et al. Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2010; 20(6): 503-515. https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2009.27
  19. Caillaud D, Leynaert B, Keirsbulck M, Nadif R; mould ANSES working group. Indoor mould exposure, asthma and rhinitis: findings from systematic reviews and recent longitudinal studies. Eur Respir Rev. 2018; 27(148): 170137. https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0137-2017
  20. Rick EM, Woolnough KF, Seear PJ, Fairs A, Satchwell J, Richardson M, et al. The airway fungal microbiome in asthma. Clin Exp Allergy. 2020; 50(12): 1325-1341. https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.13722
  21. van Tilburg Bernardes E, Gutierrez MW, Arrieta MC. The fungal microbiome and asthma. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020; 10:583418. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.583418
  22. Yoon W, Lim J, Kim D, Kim S, Lee H, Kim C, et al. Evaluation of distribution and inflammatory effects of airborne fungus in Korea. J Environ Health Sci. 2019; 45(6): 638-645.
  23. Letunic I, Bork P. Interactive Tree Of Life (iTOL) v5: an online tool for phylogenetic tree display and annotation. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021; 49(W1): W293-W296. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab301
  24. Federhen S. The NCBI Taxonomy database. Nucleic Acids Res. 2012; 40(Database issue): D136-D143. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkr1178