ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Occupational Health and Safety
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1574881
Boosting knowledge on occupational exposure to microbial contamination in Portuguese carpentries
Provisionally accepted
Marta Dias1,2*
Bianca Gomes2
Pedro Pena2
Renata Cervantes2Margarida Rodriguez2Bruna Riesenberger2Liliana Marques2
Elisabete Carolino2
Magdalena Twarużek3
Robert Kosicki3Ewelina Soszczynska3
Liliana Caetano2,4
Susana Viegas1
Carla Viegas2- 1National School of Public Health, New University of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
- 2Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL), Lisboa, Portugal
- 3Kazimierz Wielki University of Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Pomeranian, Poland
- 4Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Wood industry workers face health risks due to exposure to microorganisms and their metabolites. This study aimed to characterize seasonal microbial contamination, antifungal resistance, mycotoxins, cytotoxicity, and particulate matter in Portuguese carpentries, to reduce exposure and promote safe working conditions. Conducted in six carpentries in Lisbon, Portugal, the sampling strategy encompassed active and passive sampling methods to assess microbial contamination. A Handheld Particle Counter HH3016-IAQ was used to monitor particulate matter size, temperature, and humidity. The highest fungal load was in the cold season, with Aspergillus sp. being the predominant species, and the highest bacterial load in the warm season. Reduced susceptibility to azoles was observed in both seasons, with greater species diversity in the cold season. In the warm season, Nidulantes and Fumigati sections of Aspergillus were detected by RT-PCR, with Fumigati being the most prevalent; in the cold season, only Nidulantes was detected. Mycotoxins, mainly fumonisins, were more prevalent in the warm season; in the cold season, griseofulvin was the most prevalent mycotoxin. Cytotoxicity was more prevalent in A549 cells than in SK cells. Settled dust caused greater cytotoxicity in SK cells, and filters from the vacuumed dust in A549 cells. Higher particulate matter concentrations in the indoor sampled areas suggest a significant contribution of indoor activities to workers´ exposure. The study highlights concern about seasonal variations in microbial contamination, emphasizing the potential for respiratory diseases, invasive infections by azole-resistant fungi, mycotoxin exposure, and cytotoxicity in lung cells due to co-exposure to fungi, particulate matter, and mycotoxins influenced by environmental conditions.
Keywords: Occupational Exposure, Carpentry, Woodworkers, Wood dust, Fungi
Received: 12 Feb 2025; Accepted: 09 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dias, Gomes, Pena, Cervantes, Rodriguez, Riesenberger, Marques, Carolino, Twarużek, Kosicki, Soszczynska, Caetano, Viegas and Viegas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marta Dias, National School of Public Health, New University of Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.