A survey of outdoor and indoor airborne fungal spora in the Redemption City, Ogun State, south-western Nigeria
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ORIGINAL PAPER
A survey of outdoor and indoor airborne fungal spora in the Redemption City, Ogun State, south-western Nigeria E. U. Durugbo • A. O. Kajero • E. I. Omoregie N. E. Oyejide
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Received: 17 January 2012 / Accepted: 3 September 2012 / Published online: 21 September 2012 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
Abstract The concentration and biodiversity of airborne fungi of the Redemption City, an immense campground for Christian faithful and the temporary site of the Redeemer’s University in south-western Nigeria, was studied between February and May 2011 using the culture plate method. The study was undertaken to assess the concentrations of fungal spores and their health implication in this ever-busy environment. Fifteen different sites classified as closed or open were selected. During the experiment, a total of 228 colonies were counted, and 29 fungal species belonging to 26 genera were isolated which include the following: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Bipolaris spp., Chrysosporium spp., Cladosporium spp., Coniothyrium corda, Curvularia spp., Diplodia spp., Fusarium spp., Gliocladium spp., Monilia spp., Mucor spp., Mucor plumbeus, Penicillium spp., Phycomyces spp., Phytophthora spp., Pilobolus spp., Pyrenochaeta spp., Rhizopus stolonifer, Torula spp., Trichoderma spp. and Trichophyton spp. The most frequently occurring fungi were A. niger, C. corda and M. plumbeus, while the least recorded were Torula and Trichophyton species. Majority of the fungi isolated are known allergens; they could also be opportunistic causing various diseases in man. There
E. U. Durugbo (&) A. O. Kajero E. I. Omoregie N. E. Oyejide Department of Biological Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Redemption City, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
is therefore a dire need for good sanitation practices within the studied areas of the camp. Keywords Airborne fungi Respiratory allergy Indoor Outdoor Redemption City South-western Nigeria
1 Introduction and literature review Fungi are a fascinating group of organisms associated directly or indirectly with everyday life of mankind. In nature fungi grow in diverse habitats in diverse ways (Sharma 2005). The non-living particles on which fungi can grow include woods and wood products, for example, furniture, papers or books, and leather and its products like shoes and bags. Some fungi have the ability to degrade lignin and grow inside solid wood. Likewise, the air serves as a means of dispersal for almost all fungi (Ingold and Hudson 1993). Among the wide variety of biological particles present in the atmosphere, there are significant numbers of fungal spores (Gregory 1973). Fungi live as saprophytes on organic material or as parasites (mainly plant pathogens), so the majority of fungal spores in the air outdoors come from farms, forest stands and decomposing plant matter. Fungal spores are a normal and major component of indoor as well as outdoor air. Although most fungi have periods of the year when their spores ar
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