Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as carriers of fungi in hospital environments : an emphasis on the genera tapinoma and pheidole

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Þlamentous fungi and yeasts on the external surface of ants at hospitals. From March 2007 to February 2008, 2,899 ants were evaluated in two public hospitals in the city of Fortaleza, Ceara ́ , in northeastern Brazil. The ants were attracted by nontoxic baits, distributed within critical and semicritical hospital areas. The fungi were identiÞed through macro- and micromorphological analysis, biochemical proÞle, and growth in chromogenic medium. From this study, 5 genera and 13 species of ants were identiÞed, from critical (8% of the collected ants) and semicritical (92%) areas, during the daytime (48%) and nighttime (52%) periods. In the mycological analysis, 75% of the ants were fungi carriers, with the species Tapinoma melanocephalum and species from the genus Pheidole having the most potential as carriers of airborne fungi (75 and 18%, respectively) and yeasts(6and1%,respectively).Insummary,antsactascarriersofairbornefungiandyeasts,includingsome pathogenic species