Exposure to Microbiological Agents in Indoor and Occupational Environments

This book intends to provide information about detection and health effects due to bacteria, fungi and viruses in indoor environments. The book will cover also information about preventive and protective measures to avoid health-hazardous. Case studies will be also addressed to enrich the book with the expertise of each invited author. The book also intends to fill a gap regarding information about all biologic agents, since most of the books available are dedicated to only one type of microorganisms.

For various different biologic agents and metabolites this book will compile information about indoors presence, detection methods, exposure assessment and health effects. Several problems regarding the exposure of biologic agents will be presented through case studies, and also the implementation of preventive and protective measures to avoid/minimize exposure. Besides, all the book will focus on occupational health and/or public health point of view.

Susana Viegas - Graduated in Environmental Health from Lisbon School of Health Technology - Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon has a Master degree in Safety and Ergonomics from Lisbon University and PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health from New University of Lisbon. The principal research topics of this author are chemical occupational exposures and indoor air quality. Director and Professor of Environmental Health Graduate Course of Lisbon School of Health Technology and Coordinator of Environment and Health Research Group. Published mostly on occupational and environmental exposure to chemical agents and nowadays developing research about occupational exposures to mycotoxins in different settings.

Carla Viegas – Graduated in Environmental Health from Lisbon School of Health Technology – Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon has a Master degree in Safety and Ergonomics from Lisbon University and PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health from New University of Lisbon. The author’s major field of study is occupational and environmental mycology leading and participating in several projects about both areas of expertise. Special interest are occupational exposure to fungi in highly contaminated settings and complementarity of conventional methods and molecular tools to assess fungi occupational exposure with several articles published or in press. Professor at Lisbon School of Health Technology, Director of the Occupational Health Master’s course and researcher at Environment and Health Research Group.

Anita Gomes – Graduated in Biochemistry from Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, has a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Imperial College, University of London. This author’s major research interest is the molecular, microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional, regulation of a specific type of Immune T cells (gd T cells) differentiation and function. This work is carried out in Bruno Silva-Santos lab in the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon. The author is also a researcher in the Environment and Health Research Group, where it is mainly focused on the molecular identification of fungal species in different settings. Published in several renown international journals, addressing the molecular regulation of several processes (immune and non-immune related) and, more recently, in the occupational and environmental exposures to fungi. The author is a lecturer at the Lisbon School of Health Technology where she is a member of the Scientific Area of Biology, Department of Natural and Exact Sciences.

Martin Täubel – Graduated in Microbiology from University of Vienna, and has a PhD in Food- and Biotechnology from University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna. Since 2006 the author has focused his activities on public health related research on indoor microbial exposures in residential settings and in schools. His main research interest is on the protective as well as adverse qualities of microbial exposures in the human living environment. The main expertise of this author is on measurement strategies of microbes in indoor spaces. The author has published and reviewed in key journals within the area of Environmental Health, teaches courses at the university of Eastern Finland, chairs the Scientific technical Committee on ‘Microbes in the Indoor Environment’ of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ), and has been temporary advisor for World Health Organization (WHO).

Raquel Sabino – Graduated in Biology by the University of Lisbon and PhD in Biological Sciences, Mycology by Minho University. Developed her Posdoc in molecular epidemiology of Aspergillus, in collaboration with Standford Univerity and California Institute of Medical Research, California. Actually, the author develops her work at the Reference Unit for Parasitic and Fungal Infections at National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge.

The author’s major field of study is diagnosis, surveillance and molecular epidemiology of fungal infections. She has several publications and communications in these areas of expertise, namely scientific papers published in international and national peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and she is also editor of also one book in the field of mycology; Lecturer in national and international conferences, workshops and scientific meetings.

She is the Portuguese Ambassador of the international organization GAFFI - Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections (http://www.gaffi.org/who/our-ambassadors/portugal/) and one of the Portuguese representatives of the international group LIFE (Leading International Fungal Education).