Context
The monitoring of air contamination in healthcare establishments helps the prevention and the decrease of nosocomial infections. Airborne spores of pathogens microorganisms like Aspergillus fumigatus can be indeed responsible for severe diseases such as invasive aspergillosis.
To get a reliable control, it has to be performed with a representative sample of the surrounding air and easily analyzable by associated identification and measurement techniques.
Materials
Protocol
? 1 m3 air sampling: 200 L/min during 5 minutes
? Sample filtration on membrane
? Filter deposit on Sabouraud agar plate
? Incubation 5 days at 37°C
? Identification by the Scotch® technique
Results
? Collection time: 2 times faster than impactor
? Sensible detection
? Better representativity
In low contaminated atmosphere: Coriolis
collection efficiency = Traditional air sampler
Aspergillus fumigatus©
* « Contrôle de la contamination aéroportée à l’Hôpital : Comparaison d’un impacteur sur gélose et d’un biocollecteur en milieu liquide pour la détection d’Aspergillus ».
H.Vu-Thien et al. HygièneS N°5, Vol.XVI, Déc.08