Fungal Contamination of Airconditioner Units in Five Hospitals of Erbil Province- Kurdistan Region /Iraq

During April 2018, 75samples were collected from five hospitals in Erbil city. Samples were taken by sterile cotton swabs from the air dispenser window of air conditioner units (ACU) . They were cultured directly on Sabouraud's dextrose agar incubated at 25oC ±2. The samples were collected from five departments in each hospital include out-patient ward (OP),in-patient ward (IP), emergency room (ER), intensive care unit(ICU), and operation theater (OT). A total of (410) fungal colonies were counted, they belong to13 genera include ten hyphomycetes and only one of zygomycetes ,basidiomycetes , and hemiascomycetes. Penicillium represented in the highest total occurrence (40%) followed by Aspergillus(38.66%) and Alternaria (21.33%). The total frequency showed that Candidawas the highest (30%) followed by Penicillium(27.56%) and Aspergillus(13.17%). The highest density of filamentous fungi (no. of colony/sample) was detected in OP=16.75, and the lowest in OT=1.5. The diversity of isolates showed that ( 9) genera were recorded from ER(60%) and only one in OP (6%). All recorded genera in current study were regarded as indoor air pollutants. The predominant genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Penicillium ,Cladosporiumand Candida are well-known allergens and may cause several pulmonary disorders as well as fetal infections in particular cases.