PIMENTA, P. H. D. D.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/9882274686423029; PIMENTA, Pedro Henrique Dantas Diniz.
Resumen:
Gyms, are places with a large flow of people, who share different equipment. The latter,
if not properly sanitized, may be contaminared by microorganisms, such as fungi. Thus,
this study aimed to verify the prevalence of fungi in gym equipament in the city of Cuité,
Paraíba. For this purpose, collections were carried out, using five different
equipaments, in three gyms, using sterile swabs moistened with sterile saline solution.
The samples were then cultured in Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and incubated for up to
14 days. After this period, macroscopic and microscopic analyzes were perfomed to
identify the fungal species. The most frequent filamentous fungi in the samples were
Cladosporium spp. (12,27%) followed by Mycelia sterilia (9,01%) and Alternaria spp.
(2,72%). Fungi of the Cladosporium spp. genus are presente in the air, soil, decaying
vegetation, even in the human microbiota, which explains their dissemination in the
samples. Infections by this fungus are associated with pheohyphomycosis, superficial
and deep localized infections, pneumonia, allergic disease, brain abscesso and
disseminated infection. Based on the analysis, it can be seen that the use of antiseptic,
in this case alcohol 70%, reduced the fungal load in the applied areas. Thus, it can be
concluded that the most detected filamentous fungus was Cladosporium spp. and that
no fungus of human-to-human transmission has been found, such as dermatophytes.
Therefore, it is necessary to periodically clean the gym equipament, as well as the use
of disposable tissues or papes towels, to prevent the microorganisms presente in the
cleaning material from spreading, increasing the contamination surface, rather than
being removed. After the end of the survey, individual reports were drawn up with the
survey data and delivered to the respective managers, with the expectation of
contributing of greater safety for gym attendees.