Indoor bioaerosol dynamics

Nazaroff, William W

The ultimate goal for improving knowledge about indoor bioaerosol dynamics is to contribute to a stronger knowledge base for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of healthful buildings. This review has focused on the natural science and engineering aspects of the theme. This review has not addressed the complementary and comparably complex theme of how human health is influenced by bioaerosol exposure. Because we are at an early stage of understanding both themes and because of their complementarity, progress toward the ultimate goal would benefit from the development of synergistic interactions between the respective research communities. That is a challenging proposition for several reasons, including largely independent educational tracks and funding agencies that-at least in the United States -do not embrace the nexus between the built environment and health. The first steps to overcoming any challenge are recognizing its importance and making a commitment to the attempt. Perhaps the recent efforts to improve knowledge about the indoor microbiome and about the relationship between the human microbiome and health are establishing fertile ground for future synergistic efforts to better understand the relationship between the indoor microbiome and health.