期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2000
卷号：7
期号：02
页码：133-133–139
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：Sixteen samples of settled dusts deposited during handling of various
granular plant materials (green gram, red gram, amaranth, rice, pearl millet, sorghum,
wheat, maize) in small food storing and processing facilities (godowns) were collected
in the region of Aurangabad (Southern India). The samples were examined by the
dilution plating method for the concentration and species composition of Gram-positive
mesophilic bacteria, Gram-negative mesophilic bacteria, thermophilic actinomycetes
and fungi. They were also examined by Limulus test for the concentration of bacterial
endotoxin. The total concentration of microorganisms (bacteria + fungi) in examined
samples varied within a wide range of 1.4 ´ 105 - 8.45 ´ 108 cfu/g (median 8.36 ´ 106
cfu/g). On average, the most common were Gram-positive bacteria (87.84% of all
isolates) followed by Gram-negative bacteria (11.12%). Less common were fungi
(1.24%) and thermophilic actinomycetes (0.01%). Among isolated bacteria and fungi,
there were many species known as causative agents of allergic alveolitis, asthma and
organic dust toxic syndrome. The concentration of bacterial endotoxin in the examined
samples ranged between 12.5 - 62500 μg/g (median 781.25 μg/g), being particularly
large in the samples of dust from maize (6250 μg/g and 62500 μg/g) and pearl millet
(6250 μg/g and 12500 μg/g). The results of the present work indicate that the
agricultural dusts from India represent a potential hazard for the workers because of
high concentrations of allergenic microorganisms and bacterial endotoxin. The
particular risk is associated with handing of maize and pearl millet. Further studies on
this subject with the use of aerobiological methods are highly desirable.
