The retrofit of respiratory isolation rooms for tuberculosis patients in Taiwan

In order to effectively control nosocomial infection 12 respiratory isolation rooms fortuberculosis patients in four hospitals have been built by the Energy & Resources Laboratories,Industry Technology Research Institute in Taiwan. This project was funded by the Center ofDisease Control of the Health Department. The performance of the air-conditioning andventilation/exhaust system of respiratory isolation rooms has been tested and validated. Thetested items include ventilation rate, static pressure, temperature, humidity and noise.

Development of an extraction equipment for preventing the transmission of contaminant exhaled air

In 2003, the World Health Organization received reports of ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)’ in various parts of the World. Until 13 June 2003, there were 1755 people affected by atypical pneumonia in Hong Kong. While the mechanisms of the SARS a

A preliminary study of respirable suspended particulate level in taxi transport interchanges in Hong Kong

A study on pollutant dispersion and distribution inside public taxi transfer interchanges (TTIs)is reported. The pollutant levels inside TTIs are affected by many factors, for example, taxidata, climatic conditions, human activities and geometrical layout of TTIs. A sitemeasurement of respirable suspended particulate (RSP) level is carried out in a typical TTI inHong Kong. After analysing the effect of the above factors on RSP level, we propose to useartificial neural networks (ANNs) to study such phenomena.

Indoor air pollution and respiratory health of the peoples in Beijing: a community-based pilot study

In this study, we attempt to investigate the level of indoor air pollution and to evaluate itshealth effects on the subjects exposed to pollution in Beijing. About 270 households (90 perdistrict) were selected randomly from three districts (90 per district), representing theindustrial, old downtown and cultural/educational areas of Beijing. The concentrations ofPM10, PM2.5 and SO2 in indoor air were measured in the bedroom and the kitchen of thesubjects homes.

Home characteristics are associated with indoor microbial exposures in subtropical homes

Research has suggested associations between indoor microbial exposures and respiratorydiseases across the globe. This aim of this study was to examine whether microbe levels wereassociated with housing characteristics. Study homes were selected from a prior citywidesurvey, and housing characteristic questionnaires were distributed afterwards. Airborne fungi,bacteria and dust samples were collected. Samplings were conducted every month for a year.Having pets at homes and age of the house were found to affect the indoor concentrations ofDer p 1 and Der p 2.

Current asthma and respiratory symptoms among pupils in Shanghai schools, in relation to indoor mould growth and exposure to traffic exhausts in the schools

We measured the temperature, relative air humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2), ozone (O3),nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and formaldehyde levels in 30 classrooms in 10 schools in Shanghai.The pupils received a questionnaire; 1414 participated (99%). The temperature was 13-21C,and RH was 36-82%. The 1000 ppm CO2 level was exceeded in 45% of the classrooms.Indoor formaldehyde was 3-20 g/m3. The concentration of O3 was low, both indoors (

Domestic exposure to formaldehyde significantly increases the risk of asthma in young children

In that study, formaldehyde exposures was examined in relation to asthma for young children in western Australia. An association was shown by comparing results of respiratory questionnaire and skin-prick test, and results of formaldehyde, average temperature and relative humidity measurements.

How to describe indoor environment in epidemiological study dealing with respiratory diseases ?

This paper is a sum up of 32 epidemiological studies (mainly concerning children) having a link between indoor pollutions and respiratory diseases. Data issued from questionnaires and data from environmental measurements from these studies are compared and analysed.
Associations between different characteristics of the dwellings and respiratory symptoms are found. On the other hand, for factors like sociodemographic environment, heating and cooking installations, the impact on respiratory health is inconstant.

The 3-year follow-up study in a block of flats - experiences in the use of the Finnish indoor climate classification

The investigation was made in a Finnish building built for people with respiratory diseases. During 3 years the main indoor air parameters were measured. In parallel a questionnaire to evaluate symptoms of the occupants and their satisfaction was conducted.The experiment proved that the use of low emitting building materials, along with a high quality control of the building practices during the contruction phases, gave full satisfaction to the occupants (decrease of their symptoms during the 3 year-occupancy).With low additional costs a high IAQ can be obtained.

The relative efficacy of respirators and room ventilation in preventing occupational tuberculosis.

The study described attempted to assess the relative efficacy of personal respiratory protection when infectious aerosol concentration increases or room ventilation rates decrease. A variable for respirator leakage was added to the Wells-Riley mathematical model of airborne transmission of disease. States that infection risk decreases exponentially with increasing room ventilation or personal respiratory protection. As room ventilation rates increase, or concentrations of infectious aerosols decrease, the relative efficacy of personal respiratory protection decreases.

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