Vesper Stephen, Libuit Kevin G, Esguerra Nicolas, Cross Andrew
United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45268, USA.
Theiagen Genomics, LLC, Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA.
Ann Civ Environ Eng. 2022 Mar 29;6:1-7. doi: 10.29328/journal.acee.1001033.
The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mold sanitation in homes that suffered hurricane-related water damage. After a home is flooded, sanitation of the structure for mold is necessary before the interior of the home can be rebuilt. In this study, homes ( = 6) in Houston, Texas that had been flooded by Hurricane Harvey were sanitized by volunteers. At either 6, 8, 15, 25, 34, or 56 days after the sanitation was completed, a Button sampler was used to collect a 48-hour air sample, so that the mold cells in the air could be quantified. Each air sample was then analyzed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays for the 36 molds in the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) panel of indicator molds. Quantifying the 36-ERMI molds in air samples results in "ERMI-like" values. The ERMI-like values in the sanitized homes were inversely correlated (Pearson - value 0.04) with the log of the number of days after the sanitation was completed, an indication that it takes time after sanitation for the mold levels to stabilize. This pilot study demonstrated that the ERMI-like metric was useful in assessing post-sanitation mold levels in previously flooded homes.
这项初步研究的目的是评估在遭受与飓风相关水损的房屋中进行霉菌清理的效果。房屋被洪水淹没后，在重建房屋内部之前，对房屋结构进行霉菌清理是必要的。在本研究中，得克萨斯州休斯顿市6所被哈维飓风淹没的房屋由志愿者进行了清理。在清理完成后的第6、8、15、25、34或56天，使用纽扣式采样器采集48小时的空气样本，以便对空气中的霉菌细胞进行量化。然后，对每个空气样本通过定量聚合酶链反应（qPCR）分析环境相对霉菌指数（ERMI）指示霉菌面板中的36种霉菌。对空气样本中的36种ERMI霉菌进行量化可得出“类ERMI”值。清理后房屋中的类ERMI值与清理完成后天数的对数呈负相关（皮尔逊相关系数值为0.04），这表明清理后霉菌水平需要时间才能稳定下来。这项初步研究表明，类ERMI指标有助于评估先前被洪水淹没房屋清理后的霉菌水平。
