W. Gambale et al., LIBRARY FUNGI AT THE UNIVERSITY-OF-SAO-PAULO AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPIRATORY ALLERGY, Journal of investigational allergology & clinical immunology, 3(1), 1993, pp. 45-50
In this study, we investigated the fungi most frequently found in the
air and the books of 28 libraries at the University of Sao Paulo, Braz
il. In a second phase, 314 librarians were questioned about the presen
ce of asthmatic or rhinitic symptoms, and the relationship with the si
te of work. Forty-nine percent of them reported this type of symptoms
and 80% related them to the place of work. In the third stage, librari
ans underwent intracutaneous tests against the 20 fungi most frequentl
y isolated in libraries. Eighteen librarians presented positive tests,
12 of whom reported rhinitis and 6 of whom were asymptomatic. In 19.5
% of symptomatic patients wheals > 15 mm were observed after 6 h, whil
e 9% of the asymptomatic patients presented similar wheals. Fourteen l
ibrarians with positive tests underwent tests with each of the 20 fung
i constituting the pool. The airborne fungi isolated in libraries are
likely to be found anywhere in the city of Sao Paulo, but they are lik
ely to be present in higher concentrations in libraries, subsequently
producing respiratory allergies.