Table Of ContentViruses, Bacteria, and Fungi in
the Built Environment: Designing
Healthy Indoor Environments
This page intentionally left blank
Woodhead Publishing Series in Civil and
Structural Engineering
Viruses, Bacteria, and
Fungi in the Built
Environment: Designing
Healthy Indoor
Environments
Edited by
Fernando Pacheco-Torgal
University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Volodymyr Ivanov
Advanced Research Laboratory, National
University of Food, Technologies, Kiev, Ukraine
Joseph O. Falkinham
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia
Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States
An imprint of Elsevier
Woodhead Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier
The Officers’ Mess Business Centre, Royston Road, Duxford, CB22 4QH, United Kingdom
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about
the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright
Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/
permissions.
This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher
(other than as may be noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience
broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment
may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating
and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such
information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including
parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume
any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability,
negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas
contained in the material herein.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-0-323-85206-7
ISBN: 978-0-323-85221-0
For information on all Woodhead publications
visit our website at https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals
Publisher: Matthew Deans
Acquisitions Editor: Gwen Jones
Editorial Project Manager: Charlotte Rowley
Production Project Manager: Surya Narayanan Jayachandran
Cover Designer: Victoria Pearson
Typeset by STRAIVE, India
Contents
Contributors ix
1 Introduction to virus, bacteria, and fungi in the built environment 1
Fernando Pacheco-Torgal
1.1 Virus, bacteria, and fungi in the built environment 1
1.2 Outline of the book 5
References 6
Part One Basics of microbiology and pathogenic
contamination 9
2 Introduction to viruses, bacteria, and fungi in the built environment 11
Volodymyr Ivanov and Viktor Stabnikov
2.1 Ecosystems of the built environment 11
2.2 Diversity of microorganisms 11
2.3 Diversity of bacteria and archaea 12
2.4 Prokaryotes in the indoor environment 13
2.5 Viruses in the indoor environment 13
2.6 Microscopic fungi in the indoor environment 14
2.7 Microscopic algae in the indoor environment 15
2.8 Protozoa in the indoor environment 15
2.9 Bioaerosols of an indoor environment 16
2.10 The sources of bioaerosols 16
2.11 Virus aerosols 16
2.12 Bacterial aerosols 16
2.13 Fungal aerosols 17
2.14 Concentration of aerosols 17
2.15 Bioaerosol sampling 18
2.16 Mycotoxins in the indoor environment 18
2.17 Selection of the built ecosystem 19
2.18 Bioaerosols and indoor air quality 19
2.19 Fate of bioaerosols in the environment 20
2.20 Bioaerosols from wastewater treatment, spray irrigation, or
biotechnological plants 20
2.21 Open ecosystems 21
2.22 Semiclosed and closed ecosystems 21
vi Contents
2.23 Bioregeneration balance 22
2.24 Bioregeneration biotechnologies 22
2.25 Microbiological problems of the closed systems 23
2.26 Conclusions 23
References 24
3 Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) in the
built-environment 29
Joseph O. Falkinham, III
3.1 Introduction to opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens 29
3.2 Human diseases linked to OPPPs in the built-environment 29
3.3 Shared characteristics of OPPPs 32
3.4 Habitats of OPPPs in the built environment 35
3.5 Built-environmental characteristics favoring OPPPs 36
3.6 Transmission of OPPPs in the built environments 37
3.7 Reduction of OPPP numbers in the built-environment 38
References 41
4 Influence of surface materials on biofilm formation 45
Inês B. Gomes, Maria A. Pereira, Lúcia C. Simões, and
Manuel Simões
4.1 Introduction 45
4.2 Influence of pipe materials on biofilm formation in DWDS 48
4.3 Methodology to evaluate the biofilm formation potential
of materials 56
Acknowledgments 57
References 61
5 Black fungi in the built environment—The good, the bad,
and the ugly 65
Francesc X. Prenafeta-Boldú, Cristy Medina-Armijo, and Daniela Isola
5.1 The built mycobiome 65
5.2 Occurrence of black fungi in the built environment 68
5.3 Concluding remarks 89
Acknowledgments 90
References 91
6 Air and wall mycobiota interactions—A case study in the
Old Cathedral of Coimbra 101
N. Mesquita, F. Soares, H. Paiva de Carvalho, J. Trovão, A.C. Pinheiro,
I. Tiago, and A. Portugal
6.1 Introduction 101
6.2 Materials and methods 107
6.3 Results and discussion 109
6.4 Conclusions 118
Contents vii
Acknowledgments 119
References 119
7 Airborne transmission of bacteria bioburden 127
Edna Ribeiro, Ana Rita Mira, Tomás Ponte, and
Ketlyn Oliveira
7.1 Airborne transmission of bacteria bioburden indoor 128
7.2 Airborne transmission of bacteria bioburden outdoor 136
References 142
8 Airborne bacteria and sick building syndrome (SBS) 147
Sibel Menteşe
8.1 Airborne bacterial composition 147
8.2 Sick building syndrome (SBS) 153
8.3 Association between airborne bacteria and SBS 170
8.4 Conclusions 171
References 172
Part Two Strategies for monitoring and control of
indoor pathogens 179
9 Fungal contamination assessment in healthcare environments—A
bibliographic review 181
Raquel Pimenta, Bianca Gomes, Marta Dias, and
Carla Viegas
9.1 Introduction 181
9.2 Materials and methods 182
9.3 Results 182
9.4 Discussion 222
9.5 Conclusions 223
Acknowledgments 224
References 224
10 Indoor fungi threshold levels 231
Steffi Rocchi and Gabriel Reboux
10.1 Impact of indoor air molds on humans 231
10.2 Measuring fungal concentrations in homes 232
10.3 Which fungal species are involved in fungal diseases of
domestic origin and what thresholds are at risk? 235
10.4 State guidelines for acceptable threshold limits in housing
related to fungal disease risk 237
10.5 Health challenges of establishing risk thresholds 242
10.6 Conclusion 244
References 245
viii Contents
11 Smart technologies for COVID-19 indoor monitoring 251
Nenad Petrović and Ðorđe Kocić
11.1 Introduction 251
11.2 Background and related work 252
11.3 Case studies 255
11.4 Results and evaluation 268
11.5 Conclusion and future works 270
Acknowledgments 270
References 270
12 Ventilation strategies for healthy indoors in hospitals 273
Predrag Ilić, Dragana Nešković Markić, Ljiljana Stojanović Bjelić,
and Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi
12.1 Introduction 273
12.2 Chemical and biological contaminants in indoor environments 274
12.3 Safety and infection control 276
12.4 Environmental design strategies 279
12.5 Ventilation and energy cost 281
12.6 Conclusion and future trends 283
References 284
13 Innovative coating materials to prevent fungi growth 289
Alexandre Jerónimo, Barroso Aguiar, Célia Soares, and Nelson Lima
13.1 Introduction 289
13.2 Materials and methods 291
13.3 Results and discussion 295
13.4 Conclusions 307
References 308
14 What kind of new antimicrobial technology can we use
at the present time in architecture? 311
Andrzej Chlebicki and Wojciech Spisak
14.1 Problem with wood decaying microorganisms 319
14.2 Conclusion 322
Acknowledgments 323
References 323
Further reading 327
Index 329
Contributors
Barroso Aguiar CTAC/Territory, Environment and Construction Centre, Universidade
do Minho, Guimarães, Portugal
Ljiljana Stojanović Bjelić Pan-European University “APEIRON”, Banja Luka,
Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Hercegovina
Andrzej Chlebicki W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Cracow, Poland
H. Paiva de Carvalho Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences,
University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Marta Dias H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola
Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Joseph O. Falkinham, III Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech,
Blacksburg, VA, United States
Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of
Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Bianca Gomes H&TRC- Health & Technology Research Center, ESTeSL- Escola
Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Inês B. Gomes LEPABE—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment,
Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Predrag Ilić PSRI Institute for Protection and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska,
Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Daniela Isola Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of
Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
Volodymyr Ivanov Advanced Research Laboratory, National University of Food
Technologies, Kyiv, Ukraine
