title: Negative correlation between mycological surfaces pollution in hospital emergency departments and blood monocytes phagocytosis of healthcare workers.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to find a possible relationship between the presence of yeast and filamentous fungi in hospital emergency departments and the activity levels of blood granulocytes and monocytes in emergency personnel. The study of mycological pollution was conducted in winter; the samples were collected from 10 Warsaw hospitals emergency departments (HE D) and in 10 control locations (office spaces) and included air samples and swabbing of floor and walls. The blood for immunological investigation was taken in spring, from 40 men, 26 to 53 years old, healthcare workers of these departments, who have been working for at least 5 years in their current positions, and from 36 corresponding controls, working in control offices. Evaluation of blood leukocyte subpopulations was done by hematological analyzer and cytometry analysis and monocyte and granulocyte phagocytosis by Phagotest. There were no significant differences in the level of mycological contamination between the test and control places. The qualitative analysis of the surfaces and air samples revealed a prevalence of strains belonging to Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. genus. Statistical analysis revealed the existence of negative correlation between the number of phagocytizing blood monocytes and fungi spores content on floor and wall surfaces in hospital emergency departments (r = -0.3282, p < 0.05 and positive correlation between the number of phagocytizing monocytes in the blood of office workers and fungi pollution of control offices (r = 0.4421, p < 0.01).
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Sławomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lewicki
authors.affiliation: Biological Threats Identification and Countermeasure Center, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bielawska-Drózd
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Izabela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Winnicka
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leszczyński
authors.affiliation: Biological Threats Identification and Countermeasure Center, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cieślik
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agrobioengineering, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Laboratory of Mycology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Korniłłowicz-Kowalska
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Agrobioengineering, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Laboratory of Mycology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bohacz
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Environmental Microbiology, Maria Curie Skłodowska University (UMCS), Lublin, Poland.
authors.forename: Jolanta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaroszuk-Ściseł
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland ; Pathology Department, Biostructure Centrum, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skopińska-Różewska
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kocik
keywords: Emergency Departments; fungi; healthcare workers; phagocytosis