PhD Study Explores Indoor Air Bacterial and Fungal Concentrations in Residential Environments

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Environmental epidemiology and its contribution to providing protection against communicable diseases in Africa and beyond was the focus of doctoral research by Dr Adekunle Fakunle who graduated with a PhD in Occupational and Environmental Health.

The study provides comprehensive epidemiological evidence of the indoor air bacterial and fungal concentrations, composition and diversity in residential environments. It also describes the benefits of using both the culture-dependent and culture-independent high-throughput sequencing approach to unravel the association between indoor bacterial and fungal microbiome and Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTI) in children under the age of five.

Environmental epidemiology is a branch of epidemiology concerned with determining how environmental exposures impact human health. 

Supervised by Professor Rajen Naidoo and co-supervised by Dr Nkosana Jafta, Fakunle’s findings showed that early-life exposure to airborne bacterial and fungal community is associated with LRTI among children under the age of five. The bacterial and fungal abundance and community structure differed significantly between homes of children under the age of five with and without LRTI.

The Nigerian-born graduate was awarded the European Respiratory Society (ERS)-Short-Term Fellowship to carry out the microbiome analysis for his samples at Utrecht University in The Netherlands.  Unfortunately, COVID-19 made it impossible to travel and ship the samples last year.

‘I am excited about completing a PhD degree at one of the best institutions in Africa. It is a special accomplishment for me and I have learned so much in the process while developing skills which will certainly help me contribute significantly to my discipline,’ said Fakunle.

He is currently working on more papers from his research and looks forward to obtaining postdoctoral opportunities to further his career and contribute significantly to reducing the burden of diseases.

Words: Mandisa Shozi

Photograph: Supplied