Bacterial and fungal counts in hospital air: comparative yields for 4 sieve impactor air samplers with 2 culture media

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2006 Dec;27(12):1405-8. doi: 10.1086/508840. Epub 2006 Nov 22.

Abstract

We compared the yields of 4 recently developed sieve impactor air samplers that meet international standard ISO 14698-1, using 2 growth media (tryptic soy agar and malt extract agar) in real conditions of use. Several hospital sites expected to have different densities of airborne microflora were selected in 2 hospitals. The Samplair MK2, Air Ideal, and Mas-100 samplers yielded higher bacterial counts than did the SAS Super-100 device (P<.05). No significant differences in fungal counts were noted between the 4 devices. The use of malt extract agar in addition to tryptic soy agar significantly improved the fungal yield.

MeSH terms

  • Air
  • Air Microbiology*
  • Air Pollution, Indoor / analysis*
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteriological Techniques
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Culture Media / chemistry*
  • Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Hospitals

Substances

  • Culture Media