BACTERIA AND FUNGI IN ORGANIC DUST AS POTENTIAL HEALTH

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Instytut Medycyny Wsi im. Witolda Chodźki

2001

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Abstract: People engaged in agriculture, waste collection and other professions are exposed to

large quantities of bioaerosols associated with organic dusts, ranging from 103-1010 cfu/m3. These

bioaerosols are composed of Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria, Gram-positive, non-branching

bacteria (corynebacteria, cocci and endospore-forming bacilli), actinomycetes and fungi (moulds

and yeasts). Endotoxin produced by Gramnegative bacteria causes non-specific, inflammatory

reaction in the lungs of exposed people, while thermophilic actinomycetes and moulds are a

common cause of allergy. So far only little is known about health effects of Gram-positive

bacteria, which in many cases form a dominant fraction of dust-borne bioaerosols.