Bacterial and Fungal Contamination of Air conditioners filters and Carpets

Haitam Khalaf Almoffarreh, Faris Mohammed Alsaleh, Mansur Sultan Alruwaili
2016 International Journal of Environment Agriculture and Biotechnology  
Objective: To study the level of colonization by bacteria, and fungi/molds in air conditioners and carpets used in homes, offices,university classrooms, prayer room and laboratories. Methods: A total of 25 different settled dust samples from air conditioners, and carpet vacuum cleaners were investigated in this study. One gram of each sample was emulsified into 9.0mL sterile normal saline. 10-fold dilutions were made in normal saline and 100 µL of each suspension was inoculated onto 2 plates of
more » ... SabouraudDextrose Agarincubated at 25 °C for 48-72hrs, while 50 µLwas inoculated onto MacConkey and Blood agar plates which were incubated at 37 °C for 48hrs. Results: of the settled dust samples examined, 72 % were found to harbor molds, bacteria and yeasts. Of the total bacteria isolated, Bacillus spp. comprised 60.3%, S.epidermidis (20.7%), S. aureus (17.2%), Gram negative bacilli (1.7%). On the other hand, Aspergillusspp. made up 26.9%, of the total mold isolates, followed byPenicillium spp. (20.9%), Yeast (13.4%), Rhizopus spp. (7.5%), Zygomycetes spp. (3%), Aspergillusniger (3%), Lichtheimiacorymbifera (3%), Microsporum spp. (1.5%) and Unidentified mold in 20.8%. The mean bacterial concentration found was 1.33 x 10 5 Cfu/g of dust. Conclusion: The presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria and molds in the dust samples of the air conditioner filters, and home carpets indicated that our environment is full of microorganism that may affect people's health and expose them to different diseases, this mandates regular cleaning and safe removal of dust from A/C filters and carpets.
doi:10.22161/ijeab/1.3.14 fatcat:hx2byswkf5batjicceudnv63iq