[Survivability of Candida fungi and workpost safety in the university mycological laboratory].
BACKGROUND
To ensure the security for persons using the laboratory for research purposes it was decided to determine the influence of the number of employees and the time of their work on the survivability and vitality of Candida albicans, C. dubliniensis and C. tropicalis.


METHODS
Working time and the number of people in the room were monitored. Temperature and air relative humidity were checked. Every two weeks the vitality and survivability of fungi were assessed with the technique of intravital coloring in methylene blue.


RESULTS
During the observation of the examined species no 100% mortality was noted. After half a year of observation, the percentage of living cells in the smear did not exceed 10%. The greatest fluctuations in the survivability and its lowest value (5%) were found in C. albicans in the drop. The mortality rate in similar trials did not exceed 30% in C. dubliniensis and C. tropicalis isolates.


CONCLUSIONS
To secure the protection of employees one should limit the number of people entering the laboratory, use face masks, refresh archival isolate, and monitor hygiene procedures twice a year, depending on the frequency of changing objects and research team.
Ejdys
Elzbieta
E
Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, Olsztyn, Katedra Mikologii, Wydział Biolog. elzbieta.ejdys@uwm.edu.pl
D002175:Candida / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011044:Poland; D012449:Safety; D013045:Species Specificity; D017132:Workplace