Environmental health researchers at University of Cincinnati in Ohio have identified two specific bacteria associated with contamination in water-damaged buildings, a potential cause of health problems. The team that includes a colleague from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presented its findings yesterday at an American Society for Microbiology meeting in San Francisco.
Bacterial contamination in water-damaged buildings is considered a potential health risk for infection and respiratory conditions like asthma. While mold has been associated with indoor water damage health problems, less is known about bacteria that also collect under these conditions.
The researchers led by Atin Adhikari, a professor of environmental health at Cincinnati, analyzed samples of water damage collected from 42 homes in the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study. That study examines the long-term effects of environmental exposures on respiratory health and allergy development in children, and is funded by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Adhikari and postdoctoral researcher Eric Kettleson measured the extent of mold contamination with an environmental relative moldiness index (ERMI), a standard index of mold accumulation. Based on the EMRI results, the researchers divided the samples into high-mold or low-mold groups.
The researchers compared the ERMI data and types of bacteria found in both high- and low-mold homes to better understand the environmental sources and home characteristics that influence indoor bacterial contamination. The team found strong correlations between mycobacterium and visible mold, as well as a correlation between stenotrophomonas and the environmental relative moldiness index.
The findings of the association between mold and the bacteria mycobacterium and stenotrophomonas were the the first time these specific strains were identified in the context of indoor water damage. “These new data.” says Adhikari, “will help us more accurately target and combat the bacteria and to explore synergistic health effects of bacteria and molds growing in water damaged homes.”
Kettleson notes that stenotrophomonas maltophilia, an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen, was found in some of the samples, and had previously not been quantitatively assessed in water damaged homes, where it could cause inhalation exposure risks. “Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is the first bacterial species associated with higher ERMI values in homes,” adds Kettleson.
Read more:
- Nanotech Paint Devised to Monitor for Structural Damage
- Contaminants in City Soil Found Similar to Industrial Sites
- Pavement Affects Weather, Aids Build Up of Urban Pollutants
* * *
You must be logged in to post a comment.