Mycobiota of outdoor air that can cause asthma: a case study from Lake Manzala, Egypt

Continuous sampling of airspora in Lake Manzala was carried out monthly over a period of 1 year at five sites with an automated air sampler on Czapek's yeast extract, DG-18 and potato dextrose agar media plates.A total of 71780 mould-and 560 yeast colony-forming units were recovered from 600 exposures and the isolated taxa were assigned to 28 genera and 43 species.A greater presence of fungal spores occurred in the summer.Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Alternaria cheiranthi, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus fumigatus and Alternaria alternata were the predominant species.Many of the identified species have an aerodynamic diameter (d ae ) of 1.5-10 μm that can deeply penetrate into the lungs.Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria that had the greatest frequencies in air of Lake Manzala are strongly associated with allergic respiratory disease, especially asthma, in Port Said and Ismailia governorates.A comprehensive model of factors that contribute to asthma in the region is needed and this can be a useful tool for planning efforts and disease prevention.The obtained results indicated that the fungi of air should be considered when the quality of Egyptian air is assessed.