PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF ALLERGENIC FUNGI IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENT

Over the years, there has been a growing interest in better characterizing the features of fungi present indoors, in analyzing the influence that they have as a risk factor for respiratory problems, and in determining how different levels of fungal exposure at home influence the risk of developing or aggravating these troubles. In this study was performed a preliminary identification of different fungi isolated in a private house in order to detect potential allergens that can trigger human respiratory problems. Samples were collected from the indoor wall surfaces of different rooms (kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) in a private house where a man had a severe respiratory crisis. An initial identification of fungi was carried out based on the morphological features of colonies and their microscopic examination. Among fungal genera, Aspergillus was the most commonly isolated, with a frequency of 38.56%, followed by Penicillium 29.32%, Alternaria 20.78% and Cladosporium 11.34%. These fungal genera are very common allergens causing allergic reactions but also other illnesses, such as pulmonary diseases and/0r sinusitis or depression especially in sensitive individuals. Further future molecular studies will follow this preliminary identification based on morphological features and allow to detect fungi at species level, in order to assess the link between these fungi and the allergic condition reported and also to discuss their connection to the allergic reaction registered