Aspergillus, a fungus whose spores are ubiquitous in the environment, and are normally found in air, can be a significant issue in healthcare premises, and especially in hospital ventilation systems.
Here Andrew Poplett, an engineer with over 28 years’ healthcare building services engineering experience, and an Authorised Engineer for both specialist ventilation and water quality, explains its occurrence, spread, and prevalence. He discusses how estates and facilities personnel, in conjunction with their clinical and infection control counterparts, can act to control and manage Aspergillus, and thus help safeguard patients, staff, and visitors, in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, against its negative impact on health.
Healthcare has advanced significantly in recent years, and the pace of development is apparently endless. As newer medical technologies and treatments repair the human body in ways never imagined a few years ago, infectious diseases are emerging as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among these newly susceptible patients. Invasive and chronic fungal infections have become a formidable clinical opponent, and foremost among them is Aspergillus fumigatus.
In 1939, Henrici argued ‘in man… Aspergillus infections are so rare as to be of little practical importance’.1 Since then, more extensive treatment options and medical advances have radically reversed this position, and, as a result, the number and complexity of patients treated within modern hospitals make Aspergillus a real risk, and a potentially costly threat.
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