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Vol. 14. Issue 1.
Pages 30-34 (January - February 2010)
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Vol. 14. Issue 1.
Pages 30-34 (January - February 2010)
Original article
Open Access
Isolation of pathogenic yeasts in the air from hospital environments in the city of Fortaleza, northeast Brazil
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Rossana A. Cordeiro1,2,3, Raimunda S.N. Brilhante1,2,3,
Corresponding author
brilhante@ufc.br

Correspondence to:Prof, Rua Barão de Canindé, 210; Montese CEP: 60.425-540. Fortaleza, CE.
, Lydia D.M. Pantoja2, Renato E. Moreira Filho1,2, Patrícia R.N. Vieira1, Marcos F.G. Rocha1,2,4, André J. Monteiro5, José J.C. Sidrim1,2,3
1 Specialized Medical Mycology Center, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
2 Postgraduate Program in Medical Microbiology, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
3 Postgraduate Program in Medical Science, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
4 Postgraduate Program in Veterinary Science, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
5 Department of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
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Abstract

This paper reports the results of environmental surveillance of yeasts in specific areas of two tertiary local hospitals. From March 2007 to February 2008, samples from the air of two public hospitals were collected on a monthly basis. The samples were collected through passive sedimentation method (day and night exposure) of Petri dishes. A total of 240 air samples from 10 hospital environments were analyzed. These environments presented similar contamination levels, from which 80 fungi isolates were isolated: Candida parapsilosis (n=34), Rhodotorula spp. (19), Trichosporon asahii (11), C. tropicalis (8), C. albicans (4), C. glabrata (1), C. guilliermondii (1), C. krusei (1) and Saccharomyces spp. (1). Regarding the presence of yeasts and climatic conditions, there were 40 strains (50%) in semi-critical areas (natural ventilation) and critical areas (air conditioned). Considering the presence of microorganisms with pathogenic potential, environmental monitoring is necessary to prevent possible hospital infections.

Keywords:
environmental monitoring
air contamination
yeasts
hospitals
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