Studies on airborne fungal spores from two indoor cowsheds of suburban and rural areas of West Bengal, India

Indian cowsheds are generally places with high humidity where raw and decomposing cow- dung, straw, livestock foods, and other materials provide suitable substrates for the growth of fungi. The frequency of appearance and concentration of airborne fungal spores from two indoor cowsheds, one suburban (Kestapur) and the other from a rural area (Konnagar) in West Bengal, have been record ed and measured. A total of 29 airborne spore types were recorded from the rural cowshed and a total of 24 from the suburban area. In both places a relatively high fre quency of Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus/Penicillium group, Periconia sp., Nigrospora sp., and some unidenti fied ascospores and basidiospores were recorded. To identify viable airborne fungal spores, Petri plates with Czapec-Dox agar medium were exposed at the same time in each place. Results obtained showed a preva lence of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Cla dosporium cladosporioides. Meteorological factors were compared at the two sites and statistically correlated with the records of both culturable and non-culturable mould spores to find out their impact on spore release and dispersal. Skin-prick tests were performed with anti genic extracts prepared from the mass culture of fungi on people who were either occupationally involved or used to visit the sheds. These tests revealed several instances of high level of allergenicity.