ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2008
Particle size distribution of airborne microorganisms and pathogens during an Intense African dust event in the eastern Mediterranean.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Solid-stateCommunications earth & environment · 2025Article
- Exploring the Relationship between Wind Patterns and Hospital Admissions Due to Respiratory Symptoms in Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A critical review on bioaerosols-dispersal of crop pathogenic microorganisms and their impact on crop yield.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2024Review
- A review of pathogenic airborne fungi and bacteria: unveiling occurrence, sources, and profound human health implication.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Review
- Respirable Metals, Bacteria, and Fungi during a Saharan-Sahelian Dust Event in Houston, Texas.Environmental science & technology · 2023Article
- Climate change and human health in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: Literature review, research priorities and policy suggestions.Environmental research · 2023Review
- Article
- Airborne magnetic nanoparticles may contribute to COVID-19 outbreak: Relationships in Greece and Iran.Environmental research · 2022Article
- Assessing the relationship between airborne fungi and potential dust sources using a combined approach.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- The Characterization of Microbiome and Interactions on Weathered Rocks in a Subsurface Karst Cave, Central China.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Size-Resolved Community Structure of Bacteria and Fungi Transported by Dust in the Middle East.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Airborne Bacterial Community Composition According to Their Origin in Tenerife, Canary Islands.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Background Concentrations of Cultivable, Mesophilic Bacteria and Dust Particles in the Air in Urban, Rural and Mountain Regions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Falling bacterial communities from the atmosphere.Environmental microbiome · 2020Article
- PMJournal of environmental health science & engineering · 2020Article
- Chemical footprints of harmattan dust and traffic corridor particulates monitored at two environmentally distinct geopolitical zones in Nigeria.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
- Evidence for signatures of ancient microbial life in paleosols.Scientific reports · 2020Article
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4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe distribution of microorganisms, and especially pathogens, over airborne particles of different sizes has been ignored to a large extent, but it could have significant implications regarding the dispersion of these microorganisms across the planet, thus affecting human health.
objectivesWe examined the microbial quality of the aerosols over the eastern Mediterranean region during an African storm to determine the size distribution of microorganisms in the air.
methodsWe used a five-stage cascade impactor for bioaerosol collection in a coastal city on the eastern Mediterranean Sea during a north African dust storm. Bacterial communities associated with aerosol particles of six different size ranges were characterized following molecular culture-independent methods, regardless of the cell culturability (analysis of 16S rRNA genes).
resultsAll 16S rDNA clone libraries were diverse, including sequences commonly found in soil and marine ecosystems. Spore-forming bacteria such as Firmicutes dominated large particle sizes (> 3.3 microm), whereas clones affiliated with Actinobacteria (found commonly in soil) and Bacteroidetes (widely distributed in the environment) gradually increased their abundance in aerosol particles of reduced size (< 3.3 microm). A large portion of the clones detected at respiratory particle sizes (< 3.3 microm) were phylogenetic neighbors to human pathogens that have been linked to several diseases.
conclusionsThe presence of aerosolized bacteria in small size particles may have significant implications to human health via intercontinental transportation of pathogens.
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