Abstract

The organic material present on waste sorting units serve as a substrate for different microorganisms, increasing workers’ exposure to Aspergillus spp. This study intends to assess the Aspergillus spp. contamination on Mechanical Protection Gloves (MPG) from different workstations and understand the role of MPG in workers’ exposure to these genera. Sixty-seven used MPG were collected from different workstations and extracts were seeded on malt extract agar (MEA) supplemented with chloramphenicol (0.05%) and dichloran glycerol (DG18). The same extracts were used for the molecular detection of fungal species/strains, with reported toxigenic potential, namely Aspergillus sections (Circumdati, Flavi, Fumigati, and Nidulantes). Among Aspergillus spp., the sections with the highest prevalence on MEA were Nigri (88.29%) and Fumigati (8.63%), whereas on DG18 were Nigri (31.79%) and Circumdati (30.77%). Aspergillus section Circumdati was detected in 22 MPG samples by RT-PCR (32.84%), Fumigati in 59 samples (88.06%), Nidulantes in 61 samples (91.05%), and Flavi in 6 samples (8.96%). It was showed that, even with daily replacement, MPG presented Aspergillus spp. contamination. Thus, a more regular replacement of MPG and the adoption of complementary hygienic procedures by workers are critical to guarantee workers’ protection in this occupational environment.

摘要

废物分类单元中存在的有机物质可作为不同微生物的底物，从而增加工人接触曲霉的风险。这项研究旨在评估曲霉属。污染来自不同工作站的机械防护手套（MPG），并了解MPG在工人接触这些属种中的作用。从不同的工作站收集了67份使用过的MPG，并将提取物播种在补充了氯霉素（0.05％）和二氯甘油（DG18）的麦芽琼脂（MEA）上。相同的提取物被用于真菌种类/菌株的分子检测，具有报道的产毒潜力，即曲霉菌切片（Circumdati，Flavi，Fugigati和Nidulantes）。）。其中曲霉属，与MEA的患病率最高的切片Nigri（88.29％）和Fumigati（8.63％），而在DG18是Nigri（31.79％）和Circumdati（30.77％）。曲霉部Circumdati在22个MPG样品检测由RT-PCR（32.84％），Fumigati在59个样本（88.06％），Nidulantes在61个样本（91.05％），和黄热病在6个样品（8.96％）。结果表明，即使每天更换，MPG也会产生曲霉菌spp。污染。因此，工人定期更替MPG并采用补充的卫生程序对于在这种职业环境中保证工人的保护至关重要。