ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Spatio-Temporal Variations of Indoor Bioaerosols
in Different Socio-Economic Zones
of an Urban Metropolis
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1
Environmental Pollution Laboratory, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
2
Department of Microbiology, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
3
Department of Biochemistry, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital,
University of Delhi, Delhi, India
Submission date: 2017-07-25
Final revision date: 2017-12-10
Acceptance date: 2017-12-17
Online publication date: 2019-07-25
Publication date: 2019-09-17
Corresponding author
Palak Balyan
Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Environmental Pollution Laboratory, Department of Environmental Studies, North Campus, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 Delhi, India
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(6):4087-4097
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ABSTRACT
Bioaerosols are significant constituents of the indoor environment and may be associated with
numerous adverse health effects. This study presents the results of monitoring of aerosolised bacterial
and fungal count by passive settle plate method at different socio-economic residential zones (SEZ) of
Delhi, an urban metropolis. The counts of aerosolised bacteria and fungi were estimated across five
seasons of a tropical climate. We observed that the different SEZs showed different degrees of microbial
counts in the indoor air. The highest microbial exposure was noted in the low SEZ. The microbial count
showed a similar seasonal pattern across different SEZs. The lowest microbial count was observed
during the pre-monsoon season and the highest during post-monsoon and winter seasons. A mixed effect
model showed a significant effect of socio-economic zone and season on both indoor bacterial and fungal
counts. Although temperature and relative humidity were significantly associated with indoor microbial
count, they could not fully explain variations of indoor microbial counts in the mixed model.