Isolation And Characterisation Of Air Microflora In Michael Okpara University Of Agriculture, Umudike (Mouau) Lecture Hall:- Nnaocha, Kelechi C

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to isolate and characterize air microflora in Michael Okpara University ofAgriculture, Umudike, (MOUAU) Lecture Halls. Sedimentation technique used by opening Petri dishes containing different culture media for the isolation of the microorganisms present in the lecture halls. The bacterial isolated include: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidemidis, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus species, while the fungi isolates include: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillusfumugatus and Mucor species respectively. The result from this study indicated that the highest bacterial colony forming unit per nr air recorded in Achebe lecture hall was 8,199 (cfu/m3), followed by LIMAN lecture hall (6,633 cfu/m3), while the lowest bacterial colony forming unit per m3 air was recorded in COLNAS lecture hall (466 cfu/m3). The highest fungi colony forming unit per m3 air was recorded in Achebe lecture hall at (3,900 cfu/m3). From the findings in this study, it was observed that Escherichia coli was the highest occurring isolate at 5(25%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus 4(20%). Among the fungal species isolated. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most frequently occurring isolate at 2(50%), followed by Aspergillus niger and Mucor species at 1(25%) respectively. The concentrations of aeroflora were above the permissive standard recorded in this study, which indicated that the environment allows aerosols to build up which could serve as potential risk for the spread of infections. Immediate interventions are therefore needed to control both human and environmental factors which favour the growth and multiplication ofmicroorganisms.