Acta Scientific Microbiology (ISSN: 2581-3226) Volume 1 Issue 8 August 2018 Research Article Sick Building Syndrome and Microbiological Quality of the Air in a University in the Colombian Southwest Ángela Daza-Perez, Diana Martínez-Benavides and Paola A Caro-Hernández* Microambiente Libre, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Libre Seccional Cali, Colombia *Corresponding Author: Paola A. Caro-Hernández, Microambiente Libre, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Libre Seccional Cali, Colombia. Received: May 31, 2018; Published: July 03, 2018 Abstract Microorganisms and the biological particles they generate are involved in contamination within buildings, causing problems, like the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Although this syndrome has been known for decades and the WHO estimated in 1984 that over presence of the SBS in a university in the Colombian southwest and to learn if the microbiological quality of the air inside the build- 30% of the buildings had such sickness, officially few studies have been documented. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the - ings could be related with the presence of the syndrome. An exploratory study was conducted, which applied the modified question SBS was established by calculating the prevalence of symptoms in each building. Counts of total aerobic mesophilic and fungi were naire of the TNP 290 by the Spanish National Institute for Safety and Hygiene in the Workplace to 60 individuals. The presence of the conducted to determine the microbiological quality of the air and the fungal genera were identified according to their morphology. UFC/m3, isolating 10 fungal genera, among which we found Cladosporium sp. and Aspergillus The results indicated the presence of the syndrome in both buildings evaluated, evidencing microbial counts between 200 and 2000 logistic regression showed no relation between the presence of symptoms of the SBS and the risk factors evaluated. sp. as the most frequent. The binary Keywords: Sick Building Syndrome; Indoor Air Quality; Microbial Contamination; Fungi Bioindicators of Air Quality - Abbreviations pants; said questionnaires address the perception of the occu- The SBS can be diagnosed through surveys of building occu - pants with respect to environmental factors of air, temperature, SBS: Sick Building Syndrome; TNP: Technical Notes on Preven noise, and lighting at the workplace, as well as satisfaction at work tion; TMA: Total Mesophyll Aerobic and the symptoms presented related with the syndrome [3]. Dif- Introduction ferent questionnaires or instruments applied exist to evaluate the symptoms of multifactor origin and of positive temporal relation- The Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is known as a set of diverse presence of the SBS. Those described in the Technical Notes on ship, affecting over 20% of the occupants of non-industrial build- Hygiene in the Workplace, have been taken as reference in Latin Prevention (TNP), by the Spanish National Institute on Safety and ings, which improve and may even disappear when the individual affected leaves the building [1]. Although its nature is multifactor, have been used in diverse work settings. America, among which there are the TNP 290 and TNP 380, which its presence [2]. However, studies regarding the theme in developed Application of these instruments in several studies in Latin evidence exists that biological contamination may influence upon countries are not conclusive and in developing countries, where SBS, our group reported various cases in which the SBS is diag- environmental conditions for the growth of potentially pathogenic America has not been officially published. In a 2015 review on the biological agents are favorable, few published studies exist. nosed in academic buildings. Among these studies, there is that conducted by Rivera in a modern academic building in Mexico in 2009 and that conducted by Granada in 2011 in older buildings in Citation: Paola A Caro-Hernández., et al. “Sick Building Syndrome and Microbiological Quality of the Air in a University in the Colombian Southwest”. Acta Scientific Microbiology 1.8 (2018): 07-16. Sick Building Syndrome and Microbiological Quality of the Air in a University in the Colombian Southwest 08 a university in the city of Quito, Ecuador. Although the conditions Materials and Methods of infrastructure and age of these buildings were different, it was Study area and population possible to isolate potentially pathogenic agents; which is why the authors conclude, in both cases, that maintenance and control of Cali, Colombia, corresponding to the administrative area and the the good microbiological quality of the interior air is primordial to This study was carried out in two buildings of a university in safeguard the health of those working in these buildings [4]. located in a central area of the city with high population impact. administrative offices of the Faculty of Health Sciences, which are In Colombia, few studies have been carried out on the theme Diagnosis of the presence of the SBS Direct observation of the physical characteristics of the work- and those existing were conducted in libraries. Thus, Gómez, in place, as well as the work information of its occupants and the the dust and environment of four libraries in the city of Bogotá D. 2005, conducted a study to identify the presence of allergens in presence of the characteristic symptoms of the SBS were evaluated - results evidenced Cladosporium sp. as the fungal species most C. and their affectation on the health of the workers therein. The frequently isolated, followed by Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. through visual inspection and by applying the modified question - With this study, it was possible to demonstrate that allergic indi- naire of the TNP 290 by the National Center on Work Conditions of place [10] viduals produced large amounts of antibodies because they were in the Spanish National Institute on Safety and Hygiene in the Work - . This was an exploratory study with the participation culating the prevalence of symptoms in each building and it was of 60 individuals. The presence of the SBS was determined by cal constant contact with the allergens and that high humidity (65.9%) diagnosed as positive in buildings in which 20% or more of the in the structures; furthermore, their growth was favored by the ac- and temperature (19.5 ºC) were related with the presence of fungi occupants had one or more of the symptoms evaluated. cumulation of dust and organic material; relating these as the cause of allergic symptoms Evaluation of the air quality inside the buildings microbial concentration and composition in the environment in the [5]. Thereafter, Toloza, in 2012, studied the fungal diversity, identifying 34 genera, with the most frequent be- To determine the microbiological quality of the air inside, UFC/ library at a university in Tunja, Colombia. The results showed high - ing Cladosporium, Paecilomyces and Penicillium . m3 counts were performed of total mesophyll aerobic (TMA), and cluded in the study. For this, the plate sedimentation technique or fungi present in the administrative offices of both buildings in [6] In general, air quality analyses report on the existence of a wide exposed plate (Petri dishes) was conducted, as described by Om- variety of particles of biological origin in work environments, often eliansky [11] causing respiratory and systemic diseases and allergies [2]. Among . The samplings were conducted during three-time the most-often reported microorganisms, fungi genera have been intervals, every 15 days and each point was sampled in triplicate, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Curvularia, for TMA and fungi, employing soy tripticase agar and Sabouraud Alternaria, Fusarium, Mucor, and Chrysonilia; some of these asso- identified, like agar, respectively. The Petri dishes (90 mm diameter) were placed exposed during 30 min; thereafter, these were incubated at 28°C ciated to conditions, such as rhinitis, bronchial asthma, alveolitis approximately between 1.0 and 1.5 m from the floor and were or generalized pneumonitis, and severe dermatosis, among others from 2 to 7 days. [7-9]. Evidence found in these studies indicate the need to evaluate - the quality of air in buildings, especially those open to the public, to ing to the formula described by Omeliansky. establish quality indices dependent on the type of building and its The data obtained were reported as number of UFC/m3 accord 4 -1 geographic location. (bt) N = 5a x 10 3 - - 2); and t Where N = UFC/m of air in the internal environment; a = num mitted establishing the presence of the SBS within the administra- The purpose of this work was to apply an instrument that per ber of colonies per Petri dish; b = Petri dish surface (in cm = time of exposure, in minutes. the microbiological quality and fungal biodiversity in the air inside tive offices in a university in the Colombian southwest and know macroscopic morphology, were most frequently present; to iden- the buildings. Then, the fungi genera were identified, which according to their tify genus, the keys by Barnett and Hunter, 1998 were used [12]. Citation: Paola A Caro-Hernández., et al. “Sick Building Syndrome and Microbiological Quality of the Air in a University in the Colombian Southwest”. Acta Scientific Microbiology 1.8 (2018): 07-16. Sick Building Syndrome and Microbiological Quality of the Air in a University in the Colombian Southwest 09 Establishment of the relationship between the presence of With respect to equipment and furnishings, in both buildings symptoms of the SBS and some risk factors 95% of the offices had computers, 82% had telephones, and 41% Through the binary logistic regression, the relationship was had multifunction printers; 77% of the offices had wooden desks; most had closed filing cabinets (64%) and Persian blinds (68%). established between the symptoms resulting with a prevalence ≥ It is known that in work environments, high levels of dust, ex- 20% and independent variables UFC/m3 counts of TMA and fungi, cessive use of computers, high temperatures, little or no outside Resultstaking p ≤ and 0.05 Discussion as level of significance.