Exposure to Microbiological Agents in Indoor and Occupational Environments

Foreword.- Part I. Indoor exposure to microorganisms with emphasis on occupational environments.- Chapter I - Occupational fungal exposure in United States.- Chapter 2 - Bacteria in Indoor and Occupational Settings.- Chapter 3 - Characterization of Viral Exposures in United States Occupational Environments.- PART II. Sampling and analysis approaches in indoor microbial assessments.- Chapter 4 - Sampling for microbial determinations.- Chapter 5 - Analyses approaches for bacteria.- Chapter 6 - Analyses approaches for fungi in indoor environments.- Part III: Microbial cell wall components, secondary metabolites and health implications upon exposure.- Chapter 8 - Endotoxins, glucans and other microbial cell wall agents.- Chapter 9 - Human biomonitoring of mycotoxins for the detection of nutritional, environmental and occupational exposure.- Chapter 10 - Microbial secondary metabolites - in a more detail manner - inhalation effects of mycotoxins.- PART IV. Microbial exposures and health effects in specific indoor settings.- Section I- Residences, schools and office environments.- Chapter 11 - Microbial exposures in public buildings. - Chapter 12 - Microbial exposures in schools and daycare centers.- Chapter 13- Microbial exposures in residential homes.- Section II - Hospital environments. - Chapter 14 - Environmental Fungal Risk in Health Facilities.- Chapter 15 - Bacterial bioburden in hospital environment.- Chapter 16 - Virus bioburden in hospital settings.- PART V. Occupational environments with potential high microbial exposure.- Chapter 17 - Bioburden exposure in highly contaminated occupational environments.- Chapter 18 - What is known about zoonotic bacteria in cattle and pig farms, and what should be done to prevent occupational infections.- PART VI- Antimicrobial resistances in specific environments.- Chapter 19 - Antifungal resistances.- Chapter 20 - Bacterial resistances.- index.

Susana Viegas - Graduated in Environmental Health from Lisbon School of Health Technology - Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon has a Master degree in Safety and Ergonomics from Lisbon University and PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health from New University of Lisbon. The principal research topics of this author are chemical occupational exposures and indoor air quality. Director and Professor of Environmental Health Graduate Course of Lisbon School of Health Technology and Coordinator of Environment and Health Research Group. Published mostly on occupational and environmental exposure to chemical agents and nowadays developing research about occupational exposures to mycotoxins in different settings.

Carla Viegas - Graduated in Environmental Health from Lisbon School of Health Technology - Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon has a Master degree in Safety and Ergonomics from Lisbon University and PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health from New University of Lisbon. The author's major field of study is occupational and environmental mycology leading and participating in several projects about both areas of expertise. Special interest are occupational exposure to fungi in highly contaminated settings and complementarity of conventional methods and molecular tools to assess fungi occupational exposure with several articles published or in press. Professor at Lisbon School of Health Technology, Director of the Occupational Health Master's course and researcher at Environment and Health Research Group.

Anita Gomes - Graduated in Biochemistry from Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, has a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Imperial College, University of London. This author's major research interest is the molecular, microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional, regulation of a specific type of Immune T cells (gd T cells) differentiation and function. This work is carried out in Bruno Silva-Santos lab in the Institute