Aspergillus and Penicillium spores as urban pathogens of the Havana atmosphere, Cuba

The objective of this research was to study their abundance in the atmosphere of Havana from 2013 to 2017. Two study methods were used, viable method monitoring of the spores with Chirana Aeroscope equipment and the other a non-viable method Lanzoni VPPS 2000. TheAspergillus/Penicillium spores were found to occur with high frequency, their atmospheric concentration varied statistically between climatic seasons, the highest incidence was detected during 2013 and 2015.Aspergillus was more abundant (69%) thanPenicillium (31%), with a predominance of theFlavi andNigri sections, and forPenicillium predominatedPenicillium andFurcatum. The viable method, 23 species ofAspergillus and 22 ofPenicillium were identified, of whichA. flavus,A. niger,P. aurantiogriseum andP. citrinum predominated. A greater degree of similarity was observed in the composition ofAspergillus species, with higher indices (Di,j 0.40-0.73) compared toPenicillium (Di,j 0.30-0.55). The principal component analysis (PCA) showed a high degree of positive association betweenAspergillus/Penicillium and relative humidity (non-viable method) and betweenAspergillus andPenicillium and maximum and average temperatures (viable method).

Source: Aerobiologia - July 27, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research