大台北地區醫院空氣品質與生物氣膠之分布與特性

High exposure risk to various infectious agents in health care facilities is of special concern, especially to airborne and droplet-borne respiratory diseases. Therefore, we conducted a study to monitor indoor air quality and important bioaerosols (including culturable fungi and bacteria) in two hospitals in the greater Taipei area, Taiwan. Environmental monitoring was carried out at the most crowded areas of the study hospitals, and the departments with high concentrations of bioaerosols. The sampling sites included main lobbies, emergency department, outpatient departments (internal medicine, pediatrics, ears, nose, and throat (ENT), infectious disease, family medicine), and wards (internal medicine and pediatrics). According to the results, the concentrations of total culturable fungi were 148 CFU/m^3 and 44 CFU/m^3 in hospitals A and B, respectively; the concentrations of total culturable bacteria were 476 CFU/m^3 and 399 CFU/m^3. Mean concentrations of airborne fungi and bacteria were both highest in the main lobbies. In the study hospitals, the predominant fungal taxa were Non-Sporulating Fungi, Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus. The most prevalent bacteria were Gram-positive cocci. Many environmental factors had statistical significant correlations with bioaerosols in the study hospitals, including temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), suspended particulates, and number of people in the sampling locations. Interrelationships were also observed among many bioaerosols. The total bacterial and CO2 concentrations of the two study hospitals, as well as the ozone level in hospital B, were higher than the levels recommended by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. Environmental management of these hospitals needs further improvement. In order to improve health and productivity of their workers, hospitals should keep appropriate temperature and relative humidity to avoid microbial growth, and increase ventilation rate to control indoor pollutant levels.