Microbiological hazard in buildings based on the example of dwelling houses and public utility buildings in Warsaw

Abstract

This paper contains preliminary results of mycological research in residential and public buildings in Warsaw and its surroundings. The study focuses on the qualitative survey of fungi in buildings of various categories. It includes research objects divided into six categories depending on the age of the buildings and their use: new buildings and the objects of about twenty years and older, as well as twenty-year single-family houses. Two houses that are in the registry of monuments (National Heritage Institute) were also in the scope of the analysis. There have also been attempts to classify the identified species of fungi into groups of BSL (Biological Safety Level), in order to identify their potential allergenic impact on buildings users. In more than half of the studied objects the most frequently isolated species was Alternaria alternata (55% of cases) and fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium. Aspergillus niger was identified in 33% of the objects, exclusively in the neglected buildings, including those abandoned for at least one year.

W ponad połowie obiektów najczęściej izolowano Alternaria alternata (55% przypadków) oraz grzyby z rodzajów Aspergillus i Penicillium, w tym Aspergillus niger, który zidentyfikowano w 33% badanych obiektów: w budynkach zaniedbanych, w tym niezamieszkałych od przynajmniej roku