High concentrations of bioaerosols containing bacterial, fungal and biotoxinic matter are encountered in many workplaces, e.g. solid waste treatment plants, waste water treatment plants and sewage networks. A personal bioaerosol sampler, the CIP 10-M (M-microbiologic), has been developed to measure worker exposure to airborne biological agents. This sampler is battery operated; it is light and ...

Reuse of partially treated domestic wastewater for agricultural irrigation is a growing practice in arid regions throughout the world. A field sampling campaign to determine bioaerosol concentration, culturability, and identity at various wind speeds was conducted at a flooded wastewater irrigation site in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Direct fluorescent microscopy measurements for total a...

OBJECTIVE We have studied cross-shift respiratory responses of several individual bioaerosol components of the dust in the grain and feed industry in Norway. METHODS Cross-shift changes in lung function and nasal congestion, as well as in respiratory and systemic symptoms of 56 exposed workers and 36 referents, were recorded on the same day as full-shift exposure to the inhalable aerosol frac...

Environmental and occupational monitoring of hazardous aerosols, especially bioterrorism threats by way of dispersal of pathogenic bioaerosols, requires advanced systems that can identify harmful bioaerosol particles in quasi real-time and in situ. Instruments presently available to identify airborne biowarfare agents (BWA), mostly based on biochemical technologies, cannot be run continuously a...

Several species of Legionella cause Legionnaires' disease (LD). Infection may occur through inhalation of Legionella or amoebal vesicles. The reservoirs of Legionella are water, soil, potting soil and compost. Some species of free-living amoebae (FLA) that are naturally present in water and soil were described as hosts for Legionella. This study aimed to understand whether or not the composting...

There has been increased concern over health effects related to potential exposure of building occupants to bioaerosols. We report the case of a worker with a respiratory illness related to bioaerosol exposure in a water-damaged building with extensive fungal contamination. We performed environmental tests to evaluate potential exposure to fungi, and we used mycotoxin-specific IgG antibody in s...

Airborne transmission of the influenza virus contributes significantly to the spread of this infectious pathogen, particularly over large distances when carried by aerosol droplets with long survival times. Efficient sampling of virus-loaded aerosol in combination with a low limit of detection of the collected virus could enable rapid and early detection of airborne influenza virus at the point...

Bioaerosols generated at composting plants are released during processes that involve the vigorous movement of material such as shredding, compost pile turning, or compost screening. Such bioaerosols are a cause of concern because of their potential impact on both occupational health and the public living in close proximity to such facilities. The biological hazards potentially associated with ...