Abstract
To assess indoor air quality in Dammam slaughterhouse, samples were taken from two different laboratories. Bioaerosols as well as some slaughterhouse utensils examination indicated that most common bacteria; Salmonella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Micrococcus sp., and Bacillus sp., while fungi include; Aspergillus sp., Microsporum sp., Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Candia sp., and Cryptococcus sp., as tested on MacConKey, MSA, Blood agar and Sabouraud destrose agar media, for bacteria and fungi, respectively. Bacterial contaminants were exposed to antibiotic profiling and revealed that; Streptococcus sp. strain-AS10/7, Staphylococcus sp. strain-A/1 and Staphylococcus sp. strain-KB/1 showed highest resistance to streptomycin. While, Streptococcus sp. strain-AS5/1, showed highest resistance to ampicillin and erythromycin. Strains from air of Laboratory B (except; Bacillus sp. strain-AS2/11) showed the highest sensitivity towards all tested antibiotics. Heavy metal tolerance revealed that, all strains isolated from air of Laboratory B were moderately resistant to Ag+ and highly sensitive to lower concentraction of Hg+ and Cr+6. Some bacteria showed B-haemolytic activity, reflecting serious risk to human health. For disinfection, 10% Clorox solution was less effective while, Dettol solution (10%) showed the highest effect, except with the most resistant Staphylococcus sp. strain-AS5/2, thus recommonded for human health and safety.