MYCOFLORA INHABITING WATER CLOSET ENVIRONMENTS

Sixty-six fungal species in addition to two species varieties belongin g to 31 genera were isolated during the current study from water close t (WC) sewage samples (39 species and two varieties in 20 genera) and WC air (53 species and two varieties in 25 genera). There were more fu ngi in the WC air than in sewage. The most prevalent fungi in WC sewag e and air were members of the genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Pen icillium. Acremonium, Alternaria, Emericella, Mycosphaerella and Pleos pora were dominant only in WC air. Some species of these genera are co nsidered to be true or opportunistic pathogens. The pollution level du e to the bacterial flora either in the air or in the sewage of WCs was relatively higher than that of the fungal flora. Testing the capabili ty to produce urease, nearly all fungal isolates (65 out of 67) and ba cteria tested (35 out of 36) proved to be good urease producers.