Microbial aerosols are in fashion; assessing interior air microbiology

Around 15,000 liters of air pass through our lungs every day. Any questions?

Air is the first of the elements essential to life, something we're not always aware of, but it's also the one most subject to pollution of human origin. In recent years, the proliferation of epidemic alerts due to microbial aerosols and changes in usage (urbanization, intensive agriculture, waste treatment, transport, air conditioning, etc.) has led to a reconsideration of the risks associated with air quality and people's exposure to various pollutants. We spend 90% of our time in indoor environments, and the air we breathe there can be subject to both endogenous pollution and external sources via mechanical or natural ventilation systems. Populations such as infants, children, the sick or immunocompromised and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to microbiological air quality. Many enclosed environments (day-care centers, hospitals, transport, etc.) require effective means of managing microbiological air quality, and are at the heart of our concerns.

Despite the interest in indoor air quality, few studies have been carried out on this subject and, compared with other environments such as soil or water, few relevant microbiological data are available to date.

This article brings together new data on air microbiology, particularly in enclosed environments.