DETECTION OF AERIAL MICROFUNGUS FLORA, POTENTIAL OPPORTUNIST INFECTION AGENT, IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF THE CHEST DISEASE DEPARTMENT OF A HOSPITAL IN IZMIR

摘要

The biodiversity and concentrations of different genera of indoor airborne fungi, a potential opportunist infection factor, in the respiratory intensive care unit of the pulmonary diseases department, medical faculty of Ege University, were investigated. To accomplish the purpose, air samples were collected at 4 different points of intensive care unit for 10 days with a Merck MAS 100 air sampler. After identification of isolates obtained from 566 microfungal colonies counted, 12 different species belonging to 8 genera were determined (Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Fusarium, and Trichoderma). In this study, aimed to emphasize the importance of monitoring the presence of airborne fungal flora, particularly Aspergillus spp, in the departments of a hospital where patients of high-risk groups were hospitalized, we could not isolate A. fumigatus, an opportunist pathogen.