Indoor/outdoor relationships of bioaerosol concentrations in a retirement home and a school dormitory

Abstract

The concentrations of bacterial and fungal bioaerosols were measured in a retirement home and a school dormitory from May 2012 to May 2013. In the present work, two active and passive methods were used for bioaerosol sampling. The results from the present work indicated that Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. were the dominant bacterial genera, while the major fungal genera were Penicillium spp., Cladosporium spp., and Aspergillus spp. The results also indicated that the indoor-to-outdoor (I/O) ratios for total bacteria were 1.77 and 1.44 in the retirement home and the school dormitory, respectively; the corresponding values for total fungal spores were 1.23 and 1.08. The results suggested that in addition to outdoor sources, indoor sources also played a significant role in emitting bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in the retirement home and the school dormitory indoor.