OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationships between sick building syndrome and mold in newly-built dwellings.

METHODSSymptoms of 61 residents in 18 dwellings were surveyed by standardized questionnaires. Mold sampling was done by gravity sampling using an open Petri dish. Potato dextrose agar (PDA) and dichloran-18% glycerol agar (DG-18) were used as the culture medium.

RESULTSThere were 6 dwellings in which at least one inhabitant complained of one or more symptoms and 12 dwellings in which none of the inhabitants complained of symptoms. There was a tendency for the dwellings with inhabitants reporting symptoms to have larger colony forming units (CFU) on PDA than those without inhabitants reporting symptoms (p=0.1), but there was no difference in DG-18 result. There was a tendency for the dwellings with inhabitants reporting symptoms to have larger CFU ofCladosporium on PDA than those without (p=0.08), but there was no difference in DG-18 result. Significantly moreUlocladium sp. was detected in the dwellings with inhabitants reporting symptoms than in those without (p=0.03).Cladosporium cladosporioides was detected in all the dwellings with inhabitants reporting symptoms and 75% of the dwellings without.Cladosporium macrocarpum andCladosporium herbarum were detected in 33% of the dwellings with inhabitants reporting e symptoms and none of the dwellings without (p=0.1).

CONCLUSIONCladosporium was dominant in the Japanese newly-built dwellings studied, andCladosporium andUlocladium were probably associated with the residents' symptoms in these newly-built dwellings.