Sampling protocol to assess Aspergillus section fumigati in woodworking environments

Azole fungicides are commonly used in sawmills to protect wood against the wood-destroying basidiomycete fungi. Azole-resistant Aspergillus section Fumigati has previously been identified in these environments. Here we aimed to establish a sampling protocol to efficiently isolate Aspergillus section Fumigati in woodworking environments. The sampling campaign was conducted between December 2022 and November 2023 in 13 DIY stores and 6 sawmills. Both active and passive sampling methods were used. A total of 370 Aspergillus section Fumigati isolates were recovered from the accessed environments with particularly high efficiency using DG18 incubated at 37 °C. Both active and passive sampling media had a similar number of isolates. Regarding Andersen's six-stage air sampler, stage 5 had the highest number of isolates in both woodworking environments. Data presented in this study validated the used protocol to assess Aspergillus section Fumigati in woodworking environments to enable Occupational Health Services to prioritize interventions in these specific occupational environments to perform accurate exposure assessment and detailed risk assessment and management.

Description

This project was supported by FCT/MCTES UIDP/05608/2020, and UIDB/05608/2020. This work is also supported by national funds through FCT/MCTES/ FSE/UE, 2023.01366.BD; UI/BD/153746/2022 and CE3C unit UIDB/00329/2020; UI/BD/151431/2021; and Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, national support through IPL/2022/InChildhealth/BI/12M; IPL/IDI&CA2023/FoodAIIEU_ESTeSL; IPL/IDI&CA2023/ASPRisk_ESTeSL; IPL/IDI&CA2023/ARAFSawmills_ESTeSL.

Keywords

Occupational exposure Aspergillus section Fumigati Woodworkers Azole-resistance FCT_UIDP/05608/2020 FCT_UIDB/05608/2020 IPL/2022/InChildhealth/BI/12M IPL/IDI&CA2023/FoodAIIEU_ESTeSL IPL/IDI&CA2023/ASPRisk_ESTeSL IPL/IDI&CA2023/ARAFSawmills_ESTeSL

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.21/21774

Citation

Dias M, Gomes B, Pena P, Cervantes R, Rodriguez M, Riesenberger B, Marques L, Ribeiro E, Viegas C. Sampling protocol to assess Aspergillus section fumigati in woodworking environments. In: Baptista JS, Melo RB, Carneiro P, Castelo Branco J, Costa N, Duarte J, et al. Occupational and environmental safety and health VI: occupational risk assessment, management and case studies (Vol. I). Cham: Springer; 2025. p. 137-45.