Indoor Culturable Fungal Load and Associated Factors among Public Primary School Classrooms in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia, 2018 A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fungi are heavy threats to public health inindoor environments, particularly in residential buildings, offices,and schools where people spend a lot of time indoors. This studywas conducted to investigate the load of culturable fungi andassociated factors in a school indoor environment.METHODS: Institutional based cross-sectional study wasconducted in eight public primary school classrooms in GondarCity from March to April 2018. Settle plate technique was used todetermine the culturable fungal load. Log transformed linearregression analysis was employed. The beta-coefficient with a 95%confidence interval was used to determine the degree and directionof the association with a p-value less than 0.05.RESULTS: The highest and the lowest mean culturable fungalloads recorded were 1140.29 CFU/m 3 and 211.25 CFU/m 3 ,respectively.Aspergillus,Mucor,Penicillium,Candida,Microsporum, Trichophyton, Rhizopus, Alternaria and Fusariumspecies were isolated. Age of buildings ( b = -0.122, 95%CI -0.238,-0.007), area of classroom ( b = 0.639, 95% CI 0.285, 0.993),temperature ( b = -0.189, 95% CI -0.325,-0.047), humidity ( b = -0.023, 95% CI -0.043, -0.002) and PM10 ( b = -0.01, 95% CI -0.015,-0.005) were associated with culturable fungal load.CONCLUSIONS: High culturable fungal load was found in schoolclassrooms in Gondar City. Age of buildings, area of classrooms,temperature, humidity, and PM10 were predictors of the culturablefungal load. Therefore, proficient corrective methods are needed tocombat the problem of indoor air quality in a school indoorenvironment by controlling factors contributing to growth of fungi.