Srikanth Padma, Sudharsanam Suchithra, Steinberg Ralf
Department of Microbiology, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Indian J Med Microbiol. 2008 Oct-Dec;26(4):302-12. doi: 10.4103/0255-0857.43555.
Bio-aerosols are airborne particles that are living (bacteria, viruses and fungi) or originate from living organisms. Their presence in air is the result of dispersal from a site of colonization or growth. The health effects of bio-aerosols including infectious diseases, acute toxic effects, allergies and cancer coupled with the threat of bioterrorism and SARS have led to increased awareness on the importance of bio-aerosols. The evaluation of bio-aerosols includes use of variety of methods for sampling depending on the concentration of microorganisms expected. There have been problems in developing standard sampling methods, in proving a causal relationship and in establishing threshold limit values for exposures due to the complexity of composition of bio-aerosols, variations in human response to their exposure and difficulties in recovering microorganisms. Currently bio-aerosol monitoring in hospitals is carried out for epidemiological investigation of nosocomial infectious diseases, research into airborne microorganism spread and control, monitoring biohazardous procedures and use as a quality control measure. In India there is little awareness regarding the quality of indoor air, mould contamination in indoor environments, potential source for transmission of nosocomial infections in health care facilities. There is an urgent need to undertake study of indoor air, to generate baseline data and explore the link to nosocomial infections. This article is a review on composition, sources, modes of transmission, health effects and sampling methods used for evaluation of bio-aerosols, and also suggests control measures to reduce the loads of bio-aerosols.
生物气溶胶是指空气中存在的有生命的颗粒（细菌、病毒和真菌）或源自生物体的颗粒。它们在空气中的存在是从定殖或生长部位扩散的结果。生物气溶胶对健康的影响包括传染病、急性毒性作用、过敏和癌症，再加上生物恐怖主义和非典的威胁，人们对生物气溶胶重要性的认识有所提高。对生物气溶胶的评估包括根据预期的微生物浓度使用多种采样方法。由于生物气溶胶组成的复杂性、人类对其暴露反应的差异以及微生物回收的困难，在制定标准采样方法、证明因果关系和确定暴露阈值方面存在问题。目前，医院进行生物气溶胶监测是为了对医院感染性疾病进行流行病学调查、研究空气传播微生物的扩散与控制、监测生物危害程序以及作为一种质量控制措施。在印度，人们对室内空气质量、室内环境中的霉菌污染以及医疗保健机构中医院感染传播的潜在来源知之甚少。迫切需要对室内空气进行研究，以生成基线数据并探索与医院感染的联系。本文综述了用于评估生物气溶胶的组成、来源、传播方式、健康影响和采样方法，并提出了减少生物气溶胶负荷的控制措施。
