Lawrence John V.

Nolasco AB-1L

Table 1.2 Index of Microbial Air Contamination (IMA) based on fungal

colony counts of settle plates in six locations within the
isolation room.

Exercise 1 Fungi as Biological Air Pollutants

Results and Discussions
The class used a total of 24 plates with potato agar as growth

Plate #
(Rep)

Colony count (CFU/plate/h)

Trial 1

Trial 2

medium; 12 of these plates are placed in an isolation room for the

controlled variable while 12 are placed inside the Eco lab for the

testing of fungi air pollutants. The tables below show the results. The

Average

4.17

4.5

average colony counts per plate in the laboratory sample and isolation
room are 5.92 and 4.34 respectively.

Table 1.1 Index of Microbial Air Contamination (IMA) based on fungal

colony counts of settle plates in six locations within the
laboratory classroom.

IMA (ave.
CFU/plate/h)

4.34
Good

Index of Microbial Air Contamination (IMA) was used to

Colony count (CFU/plate/h)

Plate #
(Rep)

Trial 1

Trial 2

minutes. The plates are at least 1meter apart, 1 meter away from the

10

walls, and 1 meter above the floor. The acceptable IMA (cfu/plate)

differ for every location depending on the environment at risk.

Average

5.17

6.67

determine the quality of air; this includes the use passive air sampling
IMA (ave. CFU/plate/h)
using settle plates. The class left open the plate with potato agar for 2

Very Good

Table 2. Maximum acceptable IMA level per level of

environmental risk

Environment at risk
Maximum Acceptable IMA level
Very High
5
High
25
Medium
50
Low
75
Very high risk environments include ultra clean rooms: reverse
isolation room, operation room, and rooms that hold some electronic
and pharmaceutical procedures. The average IMA level of the plates

from the isolation room (4.34cfu/plate) is acceptable based on the

standard (5cfu/plate). Therefore the room has low fungi as pollutants

References:

and the air quality is good. Laboratories and classrooms are

The Index of Microbial Air Contamination

considered to be low risk environment which has 75cfu/plate as the

Journal of Hospital Infection 2000

maximum acceptable IMA level. The average IMA level of the plates is
5.92cfu/plate. Therefore the room has a very good air quality.

WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mold

Copenhagen, Denmark

According to the WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality,

microbial pollution is a key element of indoor pollution. This includes

http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldbasics.html

hundreds of species of bacteria and filamentous fungi (mold). The

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/faqs.htm

growth of these organisms depends on the dampness of the location

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11170755

or the amount of excess moisture. In the Eco laboratory, the main

source of moisture is the faucet in the lavatory while in the isolation
room there is no source of moisture. This was reflected on the results
of the experiment, 5.92cfu/plate in the lab while 4.34cfu/plate in the
isolation room. The increase in the dampness would lead to the
increase of fungal growth.
Fungi are ubiquitous organisms. They can be transported into
buildings through surface of new materials or clothing and through
passive or active ventilation. Fungi are therefore found in the dust and
surface of every indoor environment, including those with no problems
with damp. The isolation room has better air quality because of its
ventilation system and its limited accessibility to the public. There is a
maximum number of individual working inside the room. In the Ecolab
there is also ventilation via the air conditioning unit. However, the
number of individual entering the room is high compared to isolation
room. This is why it has a higher cfu/plate.

Fig 1&2. Culture sample from the laboratory

Figure 1 and 2 are the actual picture of the samples of fungi colonies
in the agar medium. The count for plate number 4 was 7 colonies and
10 for plate 2. Large colonies are visible in both pictures.

Fi
Fig 2&3 Culture sample from the isolation room
The count for plate 1 and 6 are 1 and 2 respectively. The single
colony in plate 1 is visible but the 2 small colonies in plate 6 are not.