PROFILE OF INDOOR AIRBORNE FUNGI IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSES OF DELHI AND NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, INDIAMAANSI VERMANI, VANDANA CHAUHAN, SUNISHTHA S. YADAV AND NEHA THUKRALAbstract Indoor fungi are important biocontaminants which have adverse affects on human health. The great abundance of fungi combined with small size and ease of dispersion of their propagules favors high concentration of fungal spores in indoor environments. Indoor airborne fungi are known to induce numerous human diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, fungal allergies and hypersensitivity reactions. The present study was envisaged to identify and quantify prevalent airborne fungi in 26 residential homes in Delhi, India. Samples were collected from four different locations in each house (kitchen, bathroom, living room and outdoor) on Czapek Dox Agar medium plates by settle plate technique. A written questionnaire was prepared to collect the respiratory health status of residents and building related parameters. Alternaria species were the most dominant components of indoor aeromycota in homes followed by Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium. Other fungi isolated from homes were Epicoccum, Trichoderma, Curvularia, Helminthosporium, Trichothecium and Mucor. Fungal I/O ratio for each residential home (n=26) was calculated from average indoor and outdoor fungal counts. Of these, 31% homes had I/ O ratio >1 indicating that there is a strong indoor source for fungal contamination. Besides, highest fungal counts were observed in living rooms followed by bathrooms and kitchens. Indoor fungal exposure may be a significant predisposing factor for development of fungal mediated respiratory diseases in our study population. |