Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of bioaerosoles in the air of different wards of governmental Hamedan hospitals, during 2011-2012

Background : In the educational hospitals of Hamedan university of medical sciences there was no previous study on qualitative and quantitative of bioaerosoles in the air of different wards. So, in this study the quality and quantity of bioaerosols in the air of hospitals was investigated to establish reference for future studies or measures. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional research, 30 wards from 5 educational hospitals of Hamedan city were studied. More than 180 air samples were collected in the various locations and conditions according to filtration method suggested by bioaerosol committee of ACGIH. The samples were transported to blood agar and sabouraud medium then were cultivated immediately. The type and number of colonies were determined in the laboratory then, the bioaerosol concentration was calculated in terms of cfu/m3. SPSS software was used for data management and related statistical analysis was carried out. Results: There were highest and lowest concentration of bioaerosols in women1 and operating room wards of Fatemiyeh hospital, respectively (54.4cfu/m3 vs. 13.3cfu/m3). It was appeared that there was no significant correlation between concentration of bioaerosols in the hospitals and proposed standard level (P=0.3). The highest fungal population were Penicelium (32.06%), Cladosporium (20.5%), Aspergillus fumigates (14.61%), Aspergillus niiger (7.43%), respectively. The highest bacterial population were coagulase-negative staphylococci (32.49%), Bacillus spp. (14.74%), Micrococcus spp.(13.68%) and Staphylococcus aureus (11.34%), respectively. Conclusion: Quantitative bioaresols concentration in the air of some hospitals was more than proposed standard. Most surveyed hospitals lacked air treatment systems so, for reducing bioaerosol concentration, standard ventilation system should be designed and utilized.