A MYCOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE AIR QUALITY IN FLOOD-PRONE HOMES WITHIN LAFIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NASARAWA STATE

Abstract

Air quality of three hundred (300) flood prone homes was assessed for the presence of fungal spores during the rainy season between September and November, 2015. Sixty (60) randomly selected households in five council wards namely Wakwa, Makama, Gayam, Ciroma and Akurba wards were assessed using the Koch sedimentation method by gravitational settlement on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Identification of isolates followed colonial and microscopic methods. Seventy-one fungal genera and species were identified, with Aspergillus niger (179; 59.7%) being the most predominant. Aspergillus niger was most isolated in Wakwa (40; 22.3%), Makama (31; 17.3%) and Gayam (51; 28.5%) wards while Bipolaris sp (40; 35.4%) and Aspergillus fumigatus (33; 28.2%) dominated isolates in Ciroma and Akurba wards respectively. The number of isolated genera and species in the wards was in the order Akurba (51) > Makama (42) > Wakwa (38) > Ciroma (36) > Gayam (32), while total frequency were 292, 290, 283, 274 and 249 in Akurba, Wakwa, Gayam, Ciroma and Makama respectively. The highest and least mean relative humidity obtained in the study were (76.3%) and (52.5%) respectively. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in the mean relative humidity, number and total frequency of isolates in the wards. Homes that reared animals were more contaminated with fungal species than those that did not. The study has revealed unhealthy presence of fungal pathogens in the homes, a conducive environment for the proliferation of fungi and therefore advocates necessary actions to reduce flooding in Lafia local government area of Nasarawa State