Airborne Concentration of Culturable Fungi Indoors and Outdoors in a Rural Georgia Veterinary Clinic
Faculty Mentor
Atin Adhikari
Location
Russell Union Ballroom
Type of Research
On-going
Session Format
Poster Presentation
College
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
Department
Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health Sciences
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Veterinary clinics may unintentionally release, spread, or facilitate the transmission of fungi through various mechanisms. This is primarily driven by the handling of infected animals, insufficient environmental decontamination, and airborne dispersion. Additionally, if a clinic is situated in a rural area, outdoor fungi can infiltrate indoors and affect the fungal levels. Calculating indoor-to-outdoor ratios could be beneficial for identifying the exposure sources relevant to the health of veterinary clinic workers.
Methods: Air samples were collected from multiple indoor locations within a veterinary clinic and from an outdoor reference site at the clinic using a BioStage® single-stage viable impactor with a QuickTake® 30 air sampling pump (SKC Inc.). The sampler was operated at 28.3 L air flow rate to collect airborne culturable molds onto agar plates. Samples were incubated to allow mold growth, and colony counts were analyzed. Temperature and relative humidity were recorded during sampling. Indoor and outdoor mold concentrations were compared to analyze differences in mold counts.
Results: Preliminary quantitative analysis and control site data affirmed that mold concentrations were generally higher outdoors (median: 312.28 CFU/m^3) than indoors (median: 268.85 CFU/m^3), with 54.4% of samples exhibiting an indoor/outdoor ratio below 1.0. In contrast to these findings, significant localized "hotspots" in Zone 7 (Ward 2) and Zone 3 (Wash) indicate that specific internal areas can still pose a higher risk of poor air quality.
Conclusion: Quantitative analysis indicates that the concentrations of airborne culturable mold were generally higher outside the veterinary clinic compared to the levels found indoors. This observation suggests that outdoor environmental factors, such as nearby vegetation, soil disturbances, or weather conditions, may play a more substantial role in mold proliferation than any potential sources within the clinic itself.
Program Description
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Start Date
4-23-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2026 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Holmes, Ally; Jegede, Oluwatosin; Mcgee, Daeshjea; Seybold, Dorothy; Ortez, Elena; and Adhikari, Atin, "Airborne Concentration of Culturable Fungi Indoors and Outdoors in a Rural Georgia Veterinary Clinic" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 179.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/179
Airborne Concentration of Culturable Fungi Indoors and Outdoors in a Rural Georgia Veterinary Clinic
Russell Union Ballroom
Background and Objectives: Veterinary clinics may unintentionally release, spread, or facilitate the transmission of fungi through various mechanisms. This is primarily driven by the handling of infected animals, insufficient environmental decontamination, and airborne dispersion. Additionally, if a clinic is situated in a rural area, outdoor fungi can infiltrate indoors and affect the fungal levels. Calculating indoor-to-outdoor ratios could be beneficial for identifying the exposure sources relevant to the health of veterinary clinic workers.
Methods: Air samples were collected from multiple indoor locations within a veterinary clinic and from an outdoor reference site at the clinic using a BioStage® single-stage viable impactor with a QuickTake® 30 air sampling pump (SKC Inc.). The sampler was operated at 28.3 L air flow rate to collect airborne culturable molds onto agar plates. Samples were incubated to allow mold growth, and colony counts were analyzed. Temperature and relative humidity were recorded during sampling. Indoor and outdoor mold concentrations were compared to analyze differences in mold counts.
Results: Preliminary quantitative analysis and control site data affirmed that mold concentrations were generally higher outdoors (median: 312.28 CFU/m^3) than indoors (median: 268.85 CFU/m^3), with 54.4% of samples exhibiting an indoor/outdoor ratio below 1.0. In contrast to these findings, significant localized "hotspots" in Zone 7 (Ward 2) and Zone 3 (Wash) indicate that specific internal areas can still pose a higher risk of poor air quality.
Conclusion: Quantitative analysis indicates that the concentrations of airborne culturable mold were generally higher outside the veterinary clinic compared to the levels found indoors. This observation suggests that outdoor environmental factors, such as nearby vegetation, soil disturbances, or weather conditions, may play a more substantial role in mold proliferation than any potential sources within the clinic itself.
