Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.4
4.1
Journals
Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbes in the Built Environment
share announcement

Microbes in the Built Environment

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2019) | Viewed by 42692

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Carla Viegas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. H & TRC—Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL—Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
2. Public Health Research Centre, NOVA National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1099-085 Lisbon, Portugal
3. Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 1169-056 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: fungal occupational exposure; indoor air quality; aspergillus epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Edna Ribeiro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
H&TRC—Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL—Escola, Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: endocrine disruptors; epigenetics; transcriptomics; biomonitoring; occupational exposure; antibiotic resistances; drug interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microorganisms are ubiquitously present in our indoor and outdoor environment. As such, humans are constantly exposed to a wide range of species, including those that are a part of our natural flora, as well as opportunistic and pathogenic, which may potentiate the development of adverse health effects. Culture-dependent and, more recently, culture-independent methodologies have been utilized for the analysis of microbial communities in different indoor environments. The use of different analysis methods can provide different and divergent perspectives on the stages of microbial growth and quantity. However, exposure assessments have only observed moderate or weak correlation between the different methods analyzed. This Special Issue will focus on various environmental and occupational sources of microbial exposures in the built environment, sampling and analysis methods, as well as the potential health consequences of those exposures.

Dr. Carla Viegas
Dr. Edna Ribeiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

11 pages, 1064 KiB  
Article
Microbiological Air Quality and Drug Resistance in Airborne Bacteria Isolated from a Waste Sorting Plant Located in Poland―A Case Study
by Ewa Brągoszewska, Izabela Biedroń and Wojciech Hryb
Microorganisms 2020, 8(2), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8020202 - 31 Jan 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6261
Abstract
International interests in biological air pollutants have increased rapidly to broaden the pool of knowledge on their identification and health impacts (e.g., infectious, respiratory diseases and allergies). Antibiotic resistance and its wider implications present us with a growing healthcare crisis, and an increased [...] Read more.
International interests in biological air pollutants have increased rapidly to broaden the pool of knowledge on their identification and health impacts (e.g., infectious, respiratory diseases and allergies). Antibiotic resistance and its wider implications present us with a growing healthcare crisis, and an increased understanding of antibiotic-resistant bacteria populations should enable better interpretation of bioaerosol exposure found in the air. Waste sorting plant (WSP) activities are a source of occupational bacterial exposures that are associated with many health disorders. The objectives of this study were (a) to assess bacterial air quality (BAQ) in two cabins of a WSP: preliminary manual sorting cabin (PSP) and purification manual sorting cabin (quality control) (QCSP), (b) determine the particle size distribution (PSD) of bacterial aerosol (BA) in PSP, QCSP, and in the outdoor air (OUT), and (c) determine the antibiotic resistance of isolated strains of bacteria. Bacterial strains were identified on a Biolog GEN III (Biolog, Hayward, CA, USA), and disc diffusion method for antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out according to the Kirby–Bauer Disk Diffusion Susceptibility Test Protocol. A large share of fecal bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis and Alcaligenes faecalis spp. feacalis, was found in the tested indoor air, which is a potential health hazard to the workers of the monitored WSP. Our results demonstrate the necessity to take into account fecal air pollution levels to avoid making erroneous assumptions regarding the environmental selection of antibiotic resistance. Total elimination of many anthropogenic sources is not possible, but important findings of this study can be used to develop realistic management policies methods to improve BAQ. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbes in the Built Environment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 1446 KiB  
Article
Influence of Sampling Site and other Environmental Factors on the Bacterial Community Composition of Domestic Washing Machines
by Susanne Jacksch, Dominik Kaiser, Severin Weis, Mirko Weide, Stefan Ratering, Sylvia Schnell and Markus Egert
Microorganisms 2020, 8(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8010030 - 22 Dec 2019
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 14169
Abstract
Modern, mainly sustainability-driven trends, such as low-temperature washing or bleach-free liquid detergents, facilitate microbial survival of the laundry processes. Favourable growth conditions like humidity, warmth and sufficient nutrients also contribute to microbial colonization of washing machines. Such colonization might lead to negatively perceived [...] Read more.
Modern, mainly sustainability-driven trends, such as low-temperature washing or bleach-free liquid detergents, facilitate microbial survival of the laundry processes. Favourable growth conditions like humidity, warmth and sufficient nutrients also contribute to microbial colonization of washing machines. Such colonization might lead to negatively perceived staining, corrosion of washing machine parts and surfaces, as well as machine and laundry malodour. In this study, we characterized the bacterial community of 13 domestic washing machines at four different sampling sites (detergent drawer, door seal, sump and fibres collected from the washing solution) using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing and statistically analysed associations with environmental and user-dependent factors. Across 50 investigated samples, the bacterial community turned out to be significantly site-dependent with the highest alpha diversity found inside the detergent drawer, followed by sump, textile fibres isolated from the washing solution, and door seal. Surprisingly, out of all other investigated factors only the monthly number of wash cycles at temperatures ≥ 60 °C showed a significant influence on the community structure. A higher number of hot wash cycles per month increased microbial diversity, especially inside the detergent drawer. Potential reasons and the hygienic relevance of this finding need to be assessed in future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbes in the Built Environment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 198 KiB  
Article
Asthma Case Cluster during Renovation of a Water-Damaged and Toxic Building
by Saija Hyvönen and Hannu Syrjala
Microorganisms 2019, 7(12), 642; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7120642 - 3 Dec 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6304
Abstract
Background: An association between fungal exposure at work and asthma onset has been shown, but a causal relationship between them has not beTanle en established. Methods: The study describes an asthma cluster in workers in a building under renovation. Before renovation the work [...] Read more.
Background: An association between fungal exposure at work and asthma onset has been shown, but a causal relationship between them has not beTanle en established. Methods: The study describes an asthma cluster in workers in a building under renovation. Before renovation the work site had significant water damage, technical deficiencies, and ventilation problems. Worker protection was insufficient during renovation. In the building, toxicity was determined from dust as well as from cultured dust. Toxicity analysis was conducted in vitro using the boar spermatozoa motility assay. Results: During the 8-month renovation period, among 290 workers, 21 (7.2%) experienced new-onset asthma (9 women, 42.9%; 12 men, 57.1%; median age, 43 years (range, 30–60 years)). At the renovation site, they had been exposed to areas where remarkable toxicity was demonstrated in vitro. One year later, 13 (61.9%) of them still had moderate disease, and three (14.8%) had severe disease. Most patients had a poor response to inhaled corticosteroids. Conclusions: This study documents a clear temporal association between occupational exposure during renovation of a water-damaged building and a cluster of 21 new occupational asthma cases. In addition, dust and cultured dust from their work spaces showed remarkable toxicity based on inhibition of boar sperm motility in vitro. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbes in the Built Environment)
14 pages, 1288 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Occupational Exposure To Fungal Burden in Portuguese Bakeries
by Carla Viegas, Tiago Faria, Liliana Aranha Caetano, Elisabete Carolino, Anita Quintal-Gomes, Magdalena Twarużek, Robert Kosicki and Susana Viegas
Microorganisms 2019, 7(8), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7080234 - 2 Aug 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3533
Abstract
Several studies reported adverse respiratory health effects in workers exposed to ambient contaminants in bakeries. The aim of this study was to examine worker exposure to fungi and mycotoxins in Portuguese bakeries in order to develop new policies in occupational health. Environmental samples [...] Read more.
Several studies reported adverse respiratory health effects in workers exposed to ambient contaminants in bakeries. The aim of this study was to examine worker exposure to fungi and mycotoxins in Portuguese bakeries in order to develop new policies in occupational health. Environmental samples such as air, surfaces, settled dust and electrostatic dust collector (EDC) were collected in 13 bakeries for fungal and mycotoxins assessment. Air samples obtained by impaction were performed applying malt extract agar (MEA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05%) and dichloran glycerol (DG18) agar-based media. Air samples collected through impinger method were determined as well for fungal detection by molecular tools of Aspergillus sections and mycotoxins. The highest median value for fungal load was 1053 CFU·m−3 and 65.3% (32 out of 49) of the sampling sites displayed higher fungal load than limits imposed by the World Health Organization. Aspergillus genera was found in air, surface swabs and EDC. Molecular tools were effective in measuring Aspergillus section Fumigati in 22.4% on air, 27.8% on surface swabs and in 7.4% in EDC and Aspergillus section Versicolores in one air sample. All settled dust samples showed contamination with six to eight mycotoxins in each sample. The mycotoxins detected were deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, monoacetoxyscirpenol, diacetoxyscirpenol, fumonisin B1, fumonisin B2, griseofulvin, HT2, ochratoxin A, ochratoxin B and mycophenolic acid. Industrial hygienists and exposure assessors should rely on different sampling methods (active and passive) and different assays (culture based and molecular methods) to obtain an accurate risk characterization regarding fungal burden (fungi and mycotoxins). Additionally, the awareness for the raw material as a potential mycotoxins indoor contamination source is important. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbes in the Built Environment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 813 KiB  
Review
Candida Auris, An Agent of Hospital-Associated Outbreaks: Which Challenging Issues Do We Need to Have in Mind?
by Raquel Sabino, Cristina Veríssimo, Álvaro Ayres Pereira and Francisco Antunes
Microorganisms 2020, 8(2), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8020181 - 28 Jan 2020
Cited by 77 | Viewed by 11543
Abstract
The emergence of Candida auris is considered as one of the most serious problems associated with nosocomial transmission and with infection control practices in hospital environment. This multidrug resistant species is rapidly spreading worldwide, with several described outbreaks. Until now, this species has [...] Read more.
The emergence of Candida auris is considered as one of the most serious problems associated with nosocomial transmission and with infection control practices in hospital environment. This multidrug resistant species is rapidly spreading worldwide, with several described outbreaks. Until now, this species has been isolated from different hospital surfaces, where it can survive for long periods. There are multiple unanswered questions regarding C. auris, such as prevalence in population, environmental contamination, effectiveness of infection prevention and control, and impact on patient mortality. In order to understand how it spreads and discover possible reservoirs, it is essential to know the ecology, natural environment, and distribution of this species. It is also important to explore possible reasons to this recent emergence, namely the environmental presence of azoles or the possible effect of climate change on this sudden emergence. This review aims to discuss some of the most challenging issues that we need to have in mind in the management of C. auris and to raise the awareness to its presence in specific indoor environments as hospital settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbes in the Built Environment)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop