Indoor biological contaminants and symptoms of sick building syndrome in office buildings in Mauritius
- 1 March 2002
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Environmental Health Research
- Vol. 12 (1) , 93-98
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09603120120110095
Abstract
This study was carried out to investigate possible relationship between bio-contaminants and symptoms of sick building syndrome among office workers in Mauritius. Viable microbial colonies were collected using a Casella slit sampler in 23 selected indoor office buildings. A questionnaire survey as well as a walk through investigation was undertaken. Physico-chemical measurements were also monitored in the selected offices. Results of this study showed that number of indoor bacterial bioaerosol concentrations ranged between 3 and 1110 CFU/m(3) while fungal counts were 0-196 CFU/m(3). However, most of the buildings showed absence of dust mites. In conclusions fungal contamination was found to be associated with the onset of sick building syndrome symptoms among workers in office buildings in Mauritius.Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Sick Building Syndrome in Mauritius: Are Symptoms Associated with the Office Environment?Indoor and Built Environment, 2000
- Prevalence of Moisture Problems in Finnish HousesIndoor Air, 1998
- Sick-building symptoms in office workers in northeastern France: a pilot studyInternationales Archiv für Arbeitsmedizin, 1998
- Investigations of the relationship betw een disease and airborne (1→3)‐β‐D‐glucan in buildingsMediators of Inflammation, 1997
- Predicting sick building syndrome at the individual and aggregate levelsEnvironment International, 1996
- Epidemiology of the sick building syndromeJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1994
- Non-Specific Symptoms In Office Workers: A Review And Summary Of The Epidemiologic LiteratureIndoor Air, 1993