ASSESSMENT OF MICROBIAL AIR QUALITY IN SELECTED NURSERY SCHOOLS IN UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE.

ABSTRACT

The Microbial quality of five nursery schools in Umuahia was examined. The five schools were chosen to cover the different parts of Umuahia, they include; We-Care International School in Ehimmiri Housing Estate, St. Patrick School in Agbama Housing Estate, Omni Grace Academy in World Bank Housing Estate, Blessed Nursery School in Federal Low Cost Housing Estate and National Root Crops Research Institute Nursery and Primary School in Umudike. Assessment was based on microbial load, flora, occurrences and changes between morning and evening periods (end of class / departure time). Out of the five nursery schools sampled, five bacteria genera were isolated which include Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus spp, Shigella spp, Streptococcus spp and Escherichia coli, while the fungi isolates are Yeast, Aspergillus spp and Penicillium spp. Results obtained showed that the bacteria population ranged from 114 cfu / m3 to170 cfu / m3 for morning periods and 177 cfu / m3to 266 cfu/ m3 for evening periods.  While the fungal count ranged from 3.3 cfu / m3 to 5.6 cfu / m3 for morning and 4.6 cfu / m3 to 6.6 cfu / m3 for evening. The percentage occurrence showed that Staphylococcus aureus had the highest percentage of occurrence while the least percentage of occurrences was recorded for Shigella spp in the morning. Aspergillus spp also recorded the highest percentage of occurrence while Yeast recorded the least percentage of occurrences. An increase was recorded in the occurrence of some microorganisms between morning and evening periods and this was attributed to human daily activities. There is need to maintain high levels of hygiene in schools.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page                                                                                                                                i

Certification                                                                                                                           ii

Dedication                                                                                                                              iii

Acknowledgements                                                                                                                iv

Table of Contents                                                                                                                   v

List of Tables                                                                                                                          viii

List of Figures                                                                                                                                    ix

Abstract                                                                                                                                  x

CHAPTER ONE

1.0  Introduction                                                                                                                1

1.1       Aims and Objectives                                                                                                  5

1.1.1    Aim                                                                                                                             5

1.1.2    Objectives                                                                                                                   5

CHAPTER TWO

2.0       Literature Review                                                                                                       6

2.1       Aeromicrobiology                                                                                                      6

2.2       Air Pollution                                                                                                               6

2.3.      Air Pollution Sources and Some Common Air Pollutants                                         7

2.4       Locations Where Bioaerosols Can Be Found                                                             7

2.4.1    Physical Environment                                                                                                7

2.4.2    Atmosphere                                                                                                                7

2.4.3    Clouds                                                                                                                         8

2.5       Microbial Communities                                                                                              8

2.5.1    Microbial Bio-Aerosols                                                                                              8

2.6       Indoor Air Quality                                                                                                      11

2.7       Health Effects Associated With Indoor Air Quality                                                  13

2.8       Poor Indoor Air Quality                                                                                             15

2.9       Air Pollution and Human Health                                                                                16

2.10     How to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution                                                                         16

CHAPTER THREE

3.0  Materials and Methods                                                                                   19

3.1       Study Area                                                                                                                  19

3.2       Preparation of Culture Media                                                                                                 19

3.3       Collection of Samples                                                                                                            20

3.4       Sub-culturing                                                                                                  20

3.5       Identification of Bacteria Isolates                                                                   20

3.5.1    Morphological Appearance                                                                                        20

3.5.2     Gram Reaction                                                                                              20

3.5.3    Biochemical Test                                                                                            21

3.5.3.1 Catalase Test                                                                                                   21

3.5.3.2 Indole Tests                                                                                                    21

3.5.3.3 Citrate Utilization Test                                                                                   21

3.5.3.4 Mannitol Fermentation                                                                                   22

3.5.3.5 Slide Coagulase Test                                                                                      22

3.5.3.6 Tube Coagulase Test                                                                                                  22

3.5.3.7 Oxidase Test                                                                                                   22

3.5.3.8 Triple Sugar Iron Agar test (TSI test)                                                            22

3.5.3.9 Motility Test                                                                                                   23

 3.6      Identification of Fungal Isolates                                                                     23

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0       Results                                                                                                                        24

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0       Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations                                             35

5.1       Discussion                                                                                                       35

5.2       Conclusion                                                                                                      38

5.3       Recommendations                                                                                          37

References                                                                                                                              38

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

Air which is a carrier of particulate matter, dust and droplets and remains generally laden with microorganism is not a natural medium for microorganisms. Air acts as a transport for microorganisms and the ultimate fate of such microorganisms depends on factors such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, size of microorganism, laden particulate degree of susceptibility or resistance of a particular microorganism to form resistant spores or cyst. Airborne microorganisms originate from different sources such as soil, animals and humans (Ogugbue et al., 2011).

Sewage treatment plants, animal rendering, fermentation processes, construction works and agricultural activities play a major role in emitting microorganisms into the air (Gillum and Levetin, 2008). Among major air pollutants, airborne particulate matter has become a main threat to humans’ health indoors and outdoors due to its high concentration in the atmosphere and toxicity (Afroz et al., 2003). Particulate matters are air pollutants that affects the quality of air (Valavanidis and Vatista, 2006). Mixtures of organic and inorganic substances that remain suspended in the air are called respirable particulate matter (RPM) and generally inhalable if they are less than 10m m (PM10) (Yau et al., 2012). Various related studies have found that particulate matter has a strong association with increasing health problems and mortality cases especially related to respiratory system (Kampa & Castanas, 2008).

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the human health and comfort of building occupants (Prescott et al., 1999). Indoor Air Quality can be affected by microbial contaminants (mold, bacteria), or any mass or energy stressor that can induce adverse health conditions (WHO, 2009). Source control, filtration and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants are the primary methods for improving indoor air quality in most buildings. Residential units can further improve indoor air quality by routine cleaning of carpets and rugs (Kalwasinska et al., 2012).

The microbial quality of indoor air in a given space at a particular time period can be determined by the quality of air entering the space, the number of occupants in the space, their physical activities and resultant aerosol generation, human traffic and ventilation of the area (Ekhaise et al., 2010). Indoor air quality (IAQ) is becoming an increasingly important issue for occupational and public health (Dudzińska, 2011).Droplets can be propelled up to 6-12 feet depending on the size of the droplets and the force of expulsion. The largest droplets are more likely to fall to the floor or ground fairly rapidly. Medium sized pathogenic droplets are more likely to enter the nasopharynx of anyone nearby, and can adhere to nasopharyngeal epithelial cells where they can cause infection (Musher, 2003). Diseases associated with inhalation of fungal spores include toxic pneumonitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, tremors, chronic fatigue syndrome, kidney failure, and cancer (Sorenso, 1999).

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is vital to human health because most human activities take place in the indoor environment including: classrooms, offices and factories (Naga et al., 2014). Primary school education in Nigeria is challenged with myriads of problems including: poor funding, poor educational infrastructures, overcrowding, inadequate classrooms and poor/polluted learning environment (Odia and Omofonmwan, 2007). The cardinal objective of primary schools in a society is to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for pupils (Geller et al., 2007). However, for many school-aged children, the outcome is different; they acquire communicable diseases in school. The quality of air inside enclosed spaces like the classrooms where they spend a time period of nearly 7 to 8 hours daily while learning in school has become a matter of growing concern today (Naga et al., 2014).

The presence of microbes in air indoors is a concern from the view of health protection and as such the classroom environment represents a congenial situation where microorganisms and susceptible pupils and teachers are together indoors. No doubt the air within the classrooms may serve as are savoir for microorganisms thereby contributing to the rate of infection among school aged children who are more susceptible to indoor air pollutants than adults as they are exposed to unidentified quantities air pollutants in school environments (Faustman et al., 2000).

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of a building’s environment in relation to the health and wellbeing of those who occupy space within it. It is determined by many factors, including lighting, air quality, and damp conditions. Workers are often concerned that they have symptoms or health conditions from exposures to contaminants in the buildings where they work. A major reason for this concern is that their symptoms often get better when they are not in the building. While research has shown that some respiratory symptoms and illnesses can be associated with damp buildings, it is still unclear what measurements of indoor contaminants show that workers are at risk for disease. In most instances where a worker and his or her physician suspect that the building environment is causing a specific health condition, the information available from medical tests and tests of the environment is not sufficient to establish which contaminants are responsible. Despite uncertainty about what to measure and how to interpret what is measured, research shows that building-related symptoms are associated with building characteristics, including dampness, cleanliness, and ventilation characteristics (NIOSH, 2017).

Classroom airborne infection or contamination could be caused to a variety of factors. These include the pupil’s own normal flora, uniforms, bags, sandals, shoes; as well as activity of pupils like sneezing, coughing, talking and yawning (Naga et al., 2014). Cupboards, books and files have been implicated as viable sources (Faustman et al., 2000). Also, house-keeping activities such as sweeping or using dry dust mops can aerosolize particles that may contain microorganisms. Infectious nuclein air currents and dust can be inhaled during normal breathing (Sharma, 2005).The number of microorganisms present in classroom will depend on; number of pupils occupying the classroom, frequency of physical activity, rate of air exchange, ambient temperature, relative humidity, level of environmental sanitation, type of ventilation, numbers of windows available for cross ventilation and more (Naga et al., 2014).

Ventilation is the intentional introduction of ambient air into a space and is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used for purposes of thermal comfort or dehumidification. The correct introduction of ambient air will help to achieve desired indoor comfort levels although the measure of an ideal comfort level varies from individual to individual. The intentional introduction of sub aerial air can be categorized as either mechanical ventilation, or natural ventilation (Ashrae, 2005).

Mechanical ventilation uses fans to drive the flow of subaerial air into a building. This may be accomplished by pressurization (in the case of positively pressurized buildings), or by depressurization (in the case of exhaust ventilation systems). Many mechanically ventilated buildings use a combination of both, with the ventilation being integrated into the HVAC system. Natural ventilation is the intentional passive flow of subaerial air into a building through planned openings (such as louvers, doors, and windows).

1.1       AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.1.1    AIM

To determine microbial air quality in selected Nursery Schools in Umuahia, Abia State.

1.1.2    OBJECTIVES

1.     To determine the microbial load of microorganisms present in the air environment from Nursery Schools in Umuahia, Abia State.

2.     To isolate microorganisms present in the air environment from Nursery Schools in Umuahia, Abia State.

3.     To characterize and identify microorganisms present in the air environment from Nursery Schools in Umuahia, Abia State.

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