ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part describes illnesses caused by exposure to fungi growing within the indoor residential environment. It points out that respiratory infection accounts for about 50 to 60% of all community acquired illness and also describes instances where transmission of viable aerosols has led to hospital acquired infection. Techniques are available to prevent the air within a hospital from becoming the medium of disease transmission. The importance of airborne transmission of viable and nonviable aerosols in the hospital environment is controversial. Spores that have settled in the indoor environment are easily reaerosolized by human activities such as bedmaking, vacuuming, and cleaning of contaminated appliances. Controlling indoor microbial aerosols involves elimination of sources as well as the substrates on which microorganisms grow. Suction samplers for viable microorganisms and for nonviable spores are among the most useful instruments for collecting microbial aerosols.
