Valutazione della presenza stagionale di spore fungine in tre scuderie (Evaluation of seasonal presence of fungal spores in three stables)

Airborne dusts and aeroallergens have a deep influence on the respiratory health of the horse: increased dust levels are known to increase duration and severity of lower respiratory tract diseases as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in this species. The aim of the study was to identify and measure the concentrations of fungal spores in three different horse stables by sampling both air and surfaces. Samples for each stall were collected from December, 2001 to November, 2002. The fungi recovered from both air and surface samples were Mucoraceae (40% of samples), Penicillium (66,3%) and Aspergillus (67,8%). In most cases, more than one fungal species was cultured from each plate. For the fungi belonging to Aspergillus genus, the following species were isolated: Aspergillus niger (42%), Aspergillus flavus (13%), Aspergillus fumigatus (7,3%), Aspergillus terreus (5,5%). The frequency of fungal isolation from air samples showed slight differences when it was compared with the same values, Obtained from surfaces sampling. The prevalence of isolation of filamentous fungi from the surfaces and from the air remained fairly constant for each of the three horse stables included in the study. Airborne fungal concentrations calculated for each stall gave different results. Seasonal variations for air samples were also observed. Our data shows how a good management system, indipendently from the building structure, thought to minimize the risks of incidence of allergic respiratory diseases, should pay attention to the importance of utilizing materials with a low-dust producing potential, in order to produce a low environmental challenge.