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Background: Intense and persistent exposure to indoor-air biological agents has been associated with the appearance of allergic diseases. Archives and libraries Indoor environments in tropical countries are an important reservoir of fungal propagules., Objective: To evaluate the degree of air pollution with allergenic fungi in a repository of frequently-manipulated documents., Methods: Air sampling was performed by two methods: active (biocollector) and passive (sedimentation plate). Fungi were taxonomically identified, and spores were measured to determine their penetrability in the human respiratory tract, and its impact on episodes of allergy., Results: In terms of concentration and diversity, the local environment behaved as a fungal propagule reservoir, which showed that there is significant health risk for the staff that manipulates the documents. Some spores were shown to be able to reach the lower respiratory tract when inhaled, which increases their allergenic and pathogenic potential. Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium and Alternaria, which are referred to as highly allergenic fungi, were prevalent., Conclusion: Aerobiological studies are a valuable tool for the treatment of patients with allergy to fungi and other disorders they produce.

The quality of the indoor air can provide very useful information for the artwork conservation. The aim of the study was to evaluate the microbial concentration inside six document repositories of the National Archive of the Republic of Cuba in two months of 1 year. The repositories are large, high, and have a natural cross-ventilation system. The microbial sampling was done in July 2010 (summer or rainy month) and February 2011 (winter or dry month) using the SAS Super 100 biocollector at 100 L/min. An appropriate selective culture media were used to isolate fungi and bacteria. A high total microbial concentration on the north side of the building in two studied months was observed. The fungal concentrations were significantly higher in July 2010 in all repositories, while the bacterial concentrations were significantly higher mostly in February 2011 only in repositories located on the first and second floor of the building. Eight fungal genera in the indoor air of all environments were isolated. Regardless of the side of the analyzed building, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium were the predominant genera. Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger were the species isolated in almost all of the analyzed repositories in the studied months. Gram-positive bacteria prevailed among bacterial groups isolated from indoor air repositories, and some percentages corresponded to the genera Bacillus and Streptomyces. In Cuba, the temperature and relative humidity are high during the whole year but the natural ventilation plays an important role in retarding microbial growth on materials.