Assessment of bio-contaminants during COVID-19 outbreak from the indoor environment of Hail city,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
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Authors: | Mohammed Kuddus Fahmida Khatoon Mohd Saleem Sadaf Anwar Syed Monowar Alam Shahid Tarig Ginawi Ashfaque Hossain Akram Abdullah Malaqi Alnabri Ziyad Fayez Alshammari Abdulaziz Mohammed Alrabie Sami Shayih Jehad Alenazi Motaz Monif F Alshammari Mohd Adnan Kausar |
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Affiliation: | 1.Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, KSA;2.Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, KSA;3.Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, UAE;4.College of Medicine, University of Hail, Hail, KSA |
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Abstract: | Biocontaminants are minute particles derived from different biological materials. Indoor biocontaminants are associated with major public health problems. In Gulf countries, it is more precarious due to the harsh climatic conditions, including high ambient temperatures and relative humidity. In addition, due to COVID-19 pandemic, most of the time public is inside their home. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the load of biocontaminants in the indoor environment of Hail city. The results showed that most of the bacteria are gram-positive and higher in polymicrobial (87.1%) than monomicrobial (62.7%) association. There was no significant association with sample collection time and types of isolates. The most abundant microbes found in all samples were Staphylococcus aureus followed by Bacillus spp. Among Gram-negative bacterial isolates, E. coli was most common in tested indoor air samples. The study will be useful to find the biocontaminants associated with risk factors and their impact on human health in indoor environment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results indicate the need to implement health care awareness programs in the region to improve indoor air quality. |
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Keywords: | Biocontaminants Bioaerosols Indoor environment Air quality COVID-19 |
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