Bioaerosols Play a Major Role in the Nasopharyngeal Microbiota Content in Agricultural Environment

Hamza Mbareche, Marc Veillette, Jonathan Pilote, Valérie Létourneau and Caroline Duchaine
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Hamza Mbareche: Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC G1V 4G5, Canada
Marc Veillette: Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC G1V 4G5, Canada
Jonathan Pilote: Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC G1V 4G5, Canada
Valérie Létourneau: Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC G1V 4G5, Canada
Caroline Duchaine: Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Québec, QC G1V 4G5, Canada

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: Background : Bioaerosols are a major concern for public health and sampling for exposure assessment purposes is challenging. The nasopharyngeal region could be a potent carrier of long-term bioaerosol exposure agents. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between nasopharyngeal bacterial flora of swine workers and the swine barns bioaerosol biodiversity. Methods : Air samples from eight swine barns as well as nasopharyngeal swabs from pig workers ( n = 25) and from a non-exposed control group ( n = 29) were sequenced using 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing. Wastewater treatment plants were used as the industrial, low-dust, non-agricultural environment control to validate the microbial link between the bioaerosol content (air) and the nasopharynxes of workers. Results : A multivariate analysis showed air samples and nasopharyngeal flora of pig workers cluster together, compared to the non-exposed control group. The significance was confirmed with the PERMANOVA statistical test ( p -value of 0.0001). Unlike the farm environment, nasopharynx samples from wastewater workers did not cluster with air samples from wastewater treatment plants. The difference in the microbial community of nasopharynx of swine workers and a control group suggest that swine workers are carriers of germs found in bioaerosols. Conclusion: Nasopharynx sampling and microbiota could be used as a proxy of air sampling for exposure assessment studies or for the determination of exposure markers in highly contaminated agricultural environments.

Keywords: bioaerosols; air quality; nasopharynx; occupational exposure; microbial diversity; resistance genes; high-throughput sequencing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:8:p:1375-:d:223403

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