KARACHI, June 3: An institute of Karachi University has conducted a study to monitor and analyse airborne fungal flora present in the city environment.
The research, according to the scientists, would help physicians in devising appropriate treatment and preventive methodologies for patients of respiratory allergies especially those suffering from asthma in Karachi.
The study carried out at Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD) is the first research analysis conducted in Pakistan using Burkards 7-Day Recording Volumetric Spore Trap instrument.
According to the study, airborne fungal spores are well known to cause respiratory allergic diseases particularly bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, rhino-conjunctivitis and allergic bronco-pulmonary aspergillosis in both adults and children especially in humid cities likeKarachi.
The city with an estimated population of 20 million people has favourable environmental conditions for fungal growth. The air that is breathed, the study says, is primarily composed of viable (microorganisms) and nonviable components (dust particles and water vapours).
Fungal spores are one of the most prevalent viable components of airspora and are known to play an important role in respiratory allergies, such as bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis as well as other diseases affecting the lungs and alveoli.Environmental fungal spores can also cause other fatal diseases like toxic pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and even cancer.
Asthma severity is shown to be directly correlated with fungal exposure, and asthma related mortalities due to high levels of fungal spore isconsider as important for clinical correlation of such diseases. Overall, the prevalence of respiratory allergies caused by fungi is known to be about 20 to 30 per cent in atopic individuals, and up to 6 per cent in the general population all over the world.
Overall, 113, 244 spores were recorded from the environment of Karachi, with the mean daily concentration of 310 spores per cubic meter.
In total, 60 different types of fungal spores were collected from the environment. Major allergenic fungal spores in the air include Cladosporium spp (44.8%), Alternaria spp (15.5%), Periconia spp (6.1%), Curvularia spp (2.1%), Stemphylium spp (1.3%) and Aspergillus/Penicillium type (1%) constituting more than 70% of the airborne fungal flora.
Other minor components include grass smut, Agrocybe, Torula, Xylaria, Chaetomium, Arthrinium, Rust, Sordaria, and Massarina.
The study was part of a project, ‘Allergy and Asthma in Pakistan: Regional Variation and Impact of Aeroallergens’ funded by the Higher Education Commission.
Tasneem Akhtar was the author whereas Prof Dr M. Anwar Waqar was the main principal investigator of the study.