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Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria

Received: 26 November 2018     Accepted: 14 January 2019     Published: 18 February 2019
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Abstract

The microbiological quality of indoor air and outdoor air within Biological Sciences Laboratories (Microbiology and Biotechnology) was investigated. The settle plate technique using open Petri dishes containing different culture media was employed to collect sample twice daily for a period of 5 weeks at 7 days interval. Standard microbiological methods were employed for the identification of bacterial and fungal isolates. The results obtained revealed that the concentration of bacteria in the study area ranged from 2.05×102 to 1.53×103 CFU/m3, while that of fungi was 2.05×102 to 1.79×103 CFU/m3. A total of 8 bacterial and 10 fungal species were isolated and identified with varying frequencies of occurrence. This include Bacillus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Micrococcus spp, Citrobacter spp, Proteus spp and Corynebacterium spp, while the fungal genera isolated include Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhodotorula harrison, Aspergillus terreus, Candida albicans, Mucor micheli, Cladosporium spp, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lecythophora hoffmannii. The bacterial isolates Bacillus spp (27%) and Micrococcus spp (22.93%) were shown to be the most predominant airborne bacteria while Aspergillus niger (21.72%) and Aspergillus flavus (18.69%) were the most frequently isolated fungal species. The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the microbial load of the indoor and outdoor air of Biological Sciences Laboratories at P˂0.05. Data generated underline the usefulness of monitoring the air quality of the Laboratory environment.

Published in Frontiers in Environmental Microbiology (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11
Page(s) 124-132
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bacteria, Fungi, Microbiological Quality, Air, Sedimentation Technique

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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Senyene Umana, Nathan Edet, Mfoniso Uko, Bassey Agbo, Maria Bassey. (2019). Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria. Frontiers in Environmental Microbiology, 4(6), 124-132. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11

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    ACS Style

    Senyene Umana; Nathan Edet; Mfoniso Uko; Bassey Agbo; Maria Bassey. Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria. Front. Environ. Microbiol. 2019, 4(6), 124-132. doi: 10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11

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    AMA Style

    Senyene Umana, Nathan Edet, Mfoniso Uko, Bassey Agbo, Maria Bassey. Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria. Front Environ Microbiol. 2019;4(6):124-132. doi: 10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11,
      author = {Senyene Umana and Nathan Edet and Mfoniso Uko and Bassey Agbo and Maria Bassey},
      title = {Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria},
      journal = {Frontiers in Environmental Microbiology},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {124-132},
      doi = {10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.fem.20180406.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.fem.20180406.11},
      abstract = {The microbiological quality of indoor air and outdoor air within Biological Sciences Laboratories (Microbiology and Biotechnology) was investigated. The settle plate technique using open Petri dishes containing different culture media was employed to collect sample twice daily for a period of 5 weeks at 7 days interval. Standard microbiological methods were employed for the identification of bacterial and fungal isolates. The results obtained revealed that the concentration of bacteria in the study area ranged from 2.05×102 to 1.53×103 CFU/m3, while that of fungi was 2.05×102 to 1.79×103 CFU/m3. A total of 8 bacterial and 10 fungal species were isolated and identified with varying frequencies of occurrence. This include Bacillus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Micrococcus spp, Citrobacter spp, Proteus spp and Corynebacterium spp, while the fungal genera isolated include Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhodotorula harrison, Aspergillus terreus, Candida albicans, Mucor micheli, Cladosporium spp, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lecythophora hoffmannii. The bacterial isolates Bacillus spp (27%) and Micrococcus spp (22.93%) were shown to be the most predominant airborne bacteria while Aspergillus niger (21.72%) and Aspergillus flavus (18.69%) were the most frequently isolated fungal species. The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the microbial load of the indoor and outdoor air of Biological Sciences Laboratories at P˂0.05. Data generated underline the usefulness of monitoring the air quality of the Laboratory environment.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    T1  - Microbiological Quality of Indoor and Outdoor Air Within Biological Sciences Laboratories in Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria
    AU  - Senyene Umana
    AU  - Nathan Edet
    AU  - Mfoniso Uko
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    JO  - Frontiers in Environmental Microbiology
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    AB  - The microbiological quality of indoor air and outdoor air within Biological Sciences Laboratories (Microbiology and Biotechnology) was investigated. The settle plate technique using open Petri dishes containing different culture media was employed to collect sample twice daily for a period of 5 weeks at 7 days interval. Standard microbiological methods were employed for the identification of bacterial and fungal isolates. The results obtained revealed that the concentration of bacteria in the study area ranged from 2.05×102 to 1.53×103 CFU/m3, while that of fungi was 2.05×102 to 1.79×103 CFU/m3. A total of 8 bacterial and 10 fungal species were isolated and identified with varying frequencies of occurrence. This include Bacillus spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Micrococcus spp, Citrobacter spp, Proteus spp and Corynebacterium spp, while the fungal genera isolated include Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhodotorula harrison, Aspergillus terreus, Candida albicans, Mucor micheli, Cladosporium spp, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lecythophora hoffmannii. The bacterial isolates Bacillus spp (27%) and Micrococcus spp (22.93%) were shown to be the most predominant airborne bacteria while Aspergillus niger (21.72%) and Aspergillus flavus (18.69%) were the most frequently isolated fungal species. The statistical analysis showed a significant difference between the microbial load of the indoor and outdoor air of Biological Sciences Laboratories at P˂0.05. Data generated underline the usefulness of monitoring the air quality of the Laboratory environment.
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Author Information
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria

  • Department of Microbiology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

  • Department of Biological Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria

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