Exposure levels of airborne bacteria and fungi in Korean swine and poultry sheds.
There is a limited amount of information available on stock farmers' exposure to airborne bacteria and fungi. In this study, the authors measured the airborne bacteria and fungi concentrations 46 times inside two swine sheds and four poultry sheds. Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium were the most prevalent fungal genera, as most of the fungi belonged to these groups. Many microbial concentrations exceeded the Korean indoor bioaerosol guideline 800 CFU m(-3) (i.e., colony-forming units per cubic meter of air). This finding suggests the need for a strategy to reduce stock farmers' occupational exposure to the microorganisms in swine and poultry sheds, and the necessity of performing a longitudinal survey to better examine farmer exposure levels and their variability. Another finding was that the use of a sanitary mask may reduce stock farmers' exposure to bioaerosols.
Jo
Wan-Kuen
WK
Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea. wkjo@knu.ac.kr
Kang
Jung-Hwan
JH
D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D000383:Agriculture; D000391:Air Microbiology; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001230:Aspergillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002963:Cladosporium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure; D007723:Korea; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010407:Penicillium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011200:Poultry; D012621:Seasons; D013552:Swine