Relationships between Exposure to Bioaerosols, Moldy Surface and Symptoms in French Mold-Damaged Homes

• Main Authors: Antoine Delanoë, Natacha Heutte, Stéphanie Gente, Virginie Séguin, David Garon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: Atmosphere
• Subjects: bioaerosols; homes; human health; indoor air quality; molds
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/3/223

Air quality in homes is a major concern in Europe, where people spend most of their time indoors. According to the World Health Organization, numerous houses are subject to dampness that can lead to mold growth, with associated health and economic consequences. Our goal was to characterize the human exposure to bioaerosols in French mold-damaged houses but also to study the effects of these bioaerosols as suffered by the inhabitants of these houses. A global approach including both field study and laboratory experimentation was used to investigate 48 mold-damaged homes. Among a wide fungal diversity, 101 viable species, <i>Aspergillus versicolor</i>, <i>Penicillium chrysogenum</i> and <i>P. crustosum</i> were observed as recurrent species and could be used as microbial indicators of indoor air quality. Statistical analyses highlighted a relationship between the concentrations of these recurrent molds and the levels of surface contamination by molds in homes. Fever, cough, dyspnea, flu-like symptoms were observed with several fungal strains (<i>A. versicolor</i>, <i>P. chrysogenum</i> and <i>P. crustosum</i>) or in relation to moldy odor. Relationships between particles of 2 to 15 &#181;m diameter and headaches and dizziness were also observed. In our study, we identified a cutaneous effect (itching) in relationship to the airborne concentration of <i>A. versicolor</i>.