Fungal contamination of potential medical interest in Spanish grain stores

: A one-year study was made of fungal spores detected in the air and in the grain of two silos and two seed stores near Cordoba, Spain. Gravimetric and volumetric methods were used simultaneously on culture mediums to sample the air. The dilution method was employed to analyze seed contamination. A total of 70 taxa were isolated, 67 of these from the air and 46 in seeds. The most abundant airborne taxa were: Aspergillus oryzae, Cladosporium cladosporioides and yeast, while yeast, A. niger and A. oryzae were the most common in seeds. The statistical test revealed differences between taxa found in the air and the wheat that could be of biological interest. Finally, it is worth noting among the species isolated the high percentage of species which have been cited in the references as potentially pathogenic or antigenic.