Assessment of viable fungi in indoor air: a case study from Tagore’s residence at Jorasanko, India

Indoor environment is significant with respect to human health especially if it is concerned when the building is v. Aim of very old. In the present study was to assess the presence of airborne fungi at an old building in Kolkata India where lots of tourists are exposed every day. Residence of famous Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore (built in the 18th century and presently used as a famous museum) in Kolkata, West Bengal was selected for this study and the indoor fungi from different room of the museum were assessed by using exposure plate technique. Humidity, temperature, wind speed and illuminance were also measured by hygrometer, thermometer anemometer and lux-meter respectively. The fungal species isolated from the air samples of different rooms were Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Paecilomyces sp., Trichoderma sp, Alternaria sp Verticillium sp, Fusarium sp, Cladosporium sp, Yeast, Curvularia sp. and Helminthosporium sp. among them, Aspergillus sp. (71.4% at monsoon at library), Penicillium sp (57% at summer at library), Paecilomyces sp.(91% at monsoon at manuscript room) are mostly dominated pathogens, which may harm the workers and visitors of the museum. No significant correlation among colony forming unit of fungi with illuminance, wind speed and temperature in the tested indoor environment was noted whereas, the humidity in indoor environment played a crucial (P<0.05) role. Round the year humidity control may be required for maintaining healthy environment.