In 1873, Charles Harrison Blackley recognised pollen as the cause of hay fever and ‘‘hay asthma’’ [1]. For the first time, he collected pollen grains with a kite that had a sticky tail and then he counted them. Being affected by seasonal asthma himself, he also performed the first skin prick test on his own arm. Since then, aerobiology (from Greek á r, aēr, ‘‘air’’; bioz, bios, ‘‘life’’; and -l...

Background: Invasive fungal infections acquired in the hospital have progressively emerged as an important cause of lifethreatening infection. In particular, airborne fungi in hospitals are considered critical pathogens of hospital-associated infections. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the airborne fungi of indoor environments of educational hospitals in the city of Ahvaz,

Fungal spores can account for large proportions of air particulate matter, and they may potentially influence the hydrological cycle and climate as nuclei for water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, fog, and precipitation. Moreover, some fungi are major pathogens and allergens. The diversity of airborne fungi is, however, not well-known. By DNA analysis we found pronounced differences in the...

Hospital construction and renovation activities are an ever-constant phenomenon in healthcare facilities, causing dust contamination and possible dispersal of fungal spores. We reviewed fungal outbreaks that occurred during construction and renovation over the last 4 decades as well as current infection prevention strategies and control measures. Fungal outbreaks still occur in healthcare setti...

To establish the rapid detection method of airborne bacterial spores, we examined Bacillus anthracis spores by real-time PCR. One hundred liters of air were trapped on a filter of an air monitor device. After it was suspended in PBS, spores of B. anthracis were artificially added. The suspension was also heated at 95 degrees C for 15 min and used for real-time PCR using anthrax-specific primers...

Fungi have long been known to affect human well being in various ways, including disease of essential crop plants, decay of stored foods with possible concomitant production of mycotoxins, superficial and systemic infection of human tissues, and disease associated with immune stimulation such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and toxic pneumonitis. The spores of a large number of important fungi ...

Aerobiological sampling traditionally uses a volumetric spore trap located in a fixed position to estimate personal exposure to airborne fungi. In this study, the number and identity of fungi inhaled by human subjects (n=34), wearing Intra-nasal air samplers (INASs), was measured over 2-hour periods in an outdoor community setting, and compared to fungal counts made with a Burkard spore trap an...

Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) fractions isolated from germinated and ungerminated spores of Botryodiplodia theobromae and Rhizopus stolonifer had acceptor activity for all 20 amino acids commonly found in protein, when tested with an enzyme fraction from germinated spores. Accordingly, it is unlikely that the absence of tRNA for a particular amino acid limits protein synthesis in fungal spores.