Air microbiology in chennai city: a pilot study

A pilot study was undertaken to assess the microbiological quality of the air in Chennai city. A total of ten representative places in Chennai city were randomly selected. Multiple air sample were collected using Air Sampler System with TSAAgar strips and subjected to cultural isolation and colony growth ranged from 25.0 to 112.5 cfu/m 3 . Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from five places of Chennai city using selective media and confirmed by suitable biochemical tests. Culture positive samples also produced a product size of 181bp by targeting Nuc gene in polymerase chain reaction. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern revealed that all the samples were resistant to cephalexin, cephalothin and penicillin. Seventy, fifty and eighty per cent of the isolates were resistant to methicillin, vancomycin and oxytetracycline, respectively. Present study indicates that microbiological quality of the air in the selected places of Chennai city is poor and appropriate measures should be taken to address this issue.