BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Unhygienic poultry feedstuffs can lead to nutrient losses and detrimental effect on poultry production and public health. In the present study, mycobiota and colony-forming units per gram in ingredients and finish poultry feed was evaluated with special reference to potentially mycotoxigenic fungi. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty five samples of corn, soybean meal and p...

Pakistan has a variety of herbs and medicinal plant resources, due to its varied ecological conditions. Large number of physicians of south Asia (locally called Hakeems and Tib-e-Unani or Ayurvedic medicines) use herbs, plant parts and extracts for treating human diseases. Source of medicinal plants are hilly areas, deserts and coastal zones of the country. Major supply of medicinal herbs is wi...

The aim of this study was to test the air in a single hospital department for fungal contamination. The department included three fully protected rooms with laminar air flow, comprising a bone marrow transplant unit (BMTU) and eleven naturally ventilated patient rooms of a haematology unit (HAEMU). Air samples were taken with an IDEAL air sampler (bioMerieux) on Sabouraud dextrose agar plates. ...

INTRODUCTION Fungal contamination in hospitals has been a major health concern, especially in immunosuppressed patients. Construction programs increase the risk of fungal contaminations in hospitals. This study aimed to monitor and compare fungal contamination in two hospitals in Bandar Abbas, Iran, one of which was undergoing construction. Furthermore, the study determined the seasonal variati...

BACKGROUND To characterize Fusarium isolates from recent cases of fungal keratitis in contact lens wearers, and to investigate fungal association with MoistureLoc solution. METHODS We studied six fungal isolates from recent cases of keratitis in New York State. The isolates were characterized by nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes, and then typed using minisatell...

The possible effect of contrails in modifying the weather is reconsidered in the light of information obtained from ground-level contrails in Alaska. It appears likely that inadvertent cloud seeding b y jet aircraft may be of the same order of magnitude as that attained in commercial cloud seeding operations. Further investigation is needed; but in the meantime, the possibility of contrail cont...

The data on the occurrence of keratinolytic fungi in sewage, municipal solid waste and waste-contaminated habitats are reviewed. In these habitats, keratinolytic fungi occur with extreme abundance. The factors influencing qualitative and quantitative compositions of the fungi in the habitats are discussed. It is concluded that keratinolytic fungi can be the bioindicators of environmental pollut...

The following is a review of some of the work that we have done since 2007 regarding the importance of molds in the phenomenon of sick building syndrome (SBS). In these studies we first examined mold contamination in air handling units (AHU). Our results showed that Cladosporium sp. were commonly recovered in AHU as growth sites and free spores. They were found mainly on the blower wheel fan bl...

The aim of this study was to analyze fungal contamination on dental chairs at the clinic of a Higher Education Institution in TeresinaPI, Brazil, and to evaluate the effectiveness of different disinfectants: 70% alcohol and 1% sodium hypochlorite. We selected the five sites with most contact between patient and chair: headrest, backrest, armrests, seat and foot rest. Samples were collected from...

An association between symptoms and residential mold growth has been consistently observed in several countries, but the contribution of dust mites and bacterial endotoxins to this relation has not been established. To address this issue, we studied a sample of 403 Canadian elementary school children during the winter months. Reported mold growth was compared to respiratory and nonspecific symp...