Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Occupational exposure to bioaerosols (fungi, bacteria, and endotoxin) may be associated with early signs of health effects of the airways measured as elevated levels of inflammatory markers in serum samples. The aim of this study is to obtain knowledge about the contribution of endotoxin, different fungal and bacterial species, and dust to the inflammatory potential of bioaerosols from different working environments. Using personal samplers, bioaerosols were sampled in the inhalation zone of workers in different occupational settings. Fungal and bacterial species were identified to species level using MALDI-TOF MS. The ability of workers' exposure to induce production of reactive oxidative species was analysed in a human cell line. Levels of the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A were measured in blood samples of the workers. The fungal and bacterial composition as well as species richness and endotoxin exposure level differed between working environments. Among the dominating microorganisms were different Staphylococcus species (work with animals), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (work with plants), and Aspergillus niger (work with waste). While pigeon house dust was cytotoxic, pig farm dust was highly inflammogenic. The biofilm forming capacity of the exposure correlated with bacterial concentration in high exposure samples. Serum levels of inflammatory markers were associated significantly with occupational exposure to endotoxin for work with plants and waste water. As the next step, we are analysing whether this association is also found for work in other environments and whether it is associated with exposure to different microorganisms.