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Investigating the effect of several factors on concentrations of bioaerosols in a well-ventilated hospital environment

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 191, Article number: 407 (2019) Cite this article

Abstract

This study characterized and quantified the bacterial and fungal bioaerosols in nine wards of the Razavi Hospital (Mashhad, Iran) that is equipped with an advanced heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system including HEPA filters for air cleaning. In this study, 432 samples were taken from the indoor air of multiple hospital wards during the morning and afternoon shifts during summer and autumn. The particle number concentrations with sizes of > 0.3, > 0.5, > 1, > 2, > 5, and > 10 μm were measured using a 6-channel handheld particle counter. A greater diversity of bioaerosol types were observed during the morning shifts and during summer. The microbial load was not affected significantly by the temperature, relative humidity, working shift, season, and number of visitors, indicating the effectiveness of a well-designed ventilation system to eliminate site-specific variations. For microbial number concentrations, a significant correlation was only observed between the number of particles with a diameter of > 10 μm and the airborne microbial loading. Thus, passive sampling may not properly reflect the actual concentrations of smaller bioaerosols. In conclusion, HEPA filters in the HVAC system successfully decreased the bioaerosol concentrations in the hospital environment. Additionally, we recommend that active sampling be used in cases where a well-functioning HVAC system exists.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Razavi Hospital for their cooperation.

Funding

This study was funded by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (grant number 10609).

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Marzieh Sadat Mousavi

  2. Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health (RCEDH), Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Mostafa Hadei

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Monireh Majlesi, Bahahran Emam & Abbas Shahsavani

  4. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA

    Philip K Hopke

  5. Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13699, USA

    Philip K Hopke

  6. Environmental and Occupational Health Center, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Yarahmadi

  7. Research Center for Environmental Health Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Majid Kermani

  8. Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Shahsavani

Authors
  1. Marzieh Sadat Mousavi
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  2. Mostafa Hadei
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  3. Monireh Majlesi
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  4. Philip K Hopke
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  5. Maryam Yarahmadi
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  6. Bahahran Emam
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  7. Majid Kermani
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  8. Abbas Shahsavani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abbas Shahsavani.

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Mousavi, M.S., Hadei, M., Majlesi, M. et al. Investigating the effect of several factors on concentrations of bioaerosols in a well-ventilated hospital environment. Environ Monit Assess 191, 407 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7559-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7559-0

Keywords

  • Indoor air pollution
  • Nosocomial infections
  • Fungi
  • Bacteria
  • Particulate matter
  • CCU