Introduction:

Air pollution in healthcare facilities is a pressing issue today, and quality control is a crucial aspect in preventing nosocomial diseases. Numerous studies have been conducted on this topic in human medicine, but not as extensively in veterinary medicine, particularly in animal facilities. The lack of research in this area and the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases necessitate the inclusion of an environmental study to identify the agents present and the biosecurity measures required to ensure optimal microbiological air quality in veterinary hospital premises and experimental animal facilities.

Objective:

It is intended to determine the microbiological quality of the air in the facilities and to evaluate the need to implement biosafety measures to prevent nosocomial infections.

Material and methods:

In the present study, a single environmental sampling was carried out in the dependencies of the surgical area and vivarium of the Experimental Medicine and Surgery Service of the Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla Centro Sanitario de Vida y Esperanza (HCDGU-CSVE). An aerobic impaction collector was used to take samples, using Blood Agar and Sabouraud Agar plates as culture media to count colony-forming units (CFU).

Results:

A total of 66 isolates were obtained, in which it was possible to identify three different genera of Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. and Bacillus spp.) and seven genera of fungi (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Curvularia spp., Arthroderma spp., Rhizopus spp., and Alternaria spp.), their frequencies being similar in both facilities. In the dependencies of the vivarium, there was a higher frequency rate of Staphylococcus spp. (25.8 %), Aspergillus spp. (22.6 %) and Penicillium spp. (22.6 %), the records in the surgical area being similar for these genres, obtaining 31.4 %, 25.7 % and 34.3 %, respectively.

Conclusions:

The results obtained evidenced the presence of pathogenic fungi potentially causing nosocomial infections in both facilities of the Experimental Medicine and Surgery Service. However, the fungal load present was extremely low, suggesting the effectiveness of the cleaning and disinfection program to which the premises are subjected, thus avoiding the growth and propagation of these microorganisms.