Dynamics and Health Risks of Fungal Bioaerosols in Confined Broiler Houses During Winter

Fungal bioaerosols play a critical ecological and health role in intensive poultry production systems. However, their dynamic characteristics and community succession patterns in confined cage environments during winter remain poorly understood. This study investigated a typical confined broiler house in Hebei Province, China, during winter. A combined approach of Andersen six-stage sampling, colony counting, and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) high-throughput sequencing was employed to comprehensively analyze the concentration, particle size distribution, diversity, and community composition of fungal bioaerosols across three key growth stages: 7 days (brooding phase), 21 days (growing phase), and 35 days (finishing phase). The results revealed a significant increasing trend in fungal aerosol concentration as the rearing cycle progressed, increasing from 1125 ± 125 CFU/m³ at day 7 to 3872 ± 565 CFU/m³ at day 35 (<i>p</i> < 0.001), reaching high-risk exposure levels in the later stages. Small-sized fungal bioaerosols (<4.7 μm) were dominant across all stages (54.35-65.50%), with the highest proportion observed at day 21, indicating their potential for deep respiratory deposition and long-distance airborne transmission. The number of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), along with Chao1 and Shannon indices, increased significantly with bird age (<i>p</i> < 0.001), demonstrating a clear community succession from early-stage yeast-dominated forms (e.g., <i>Diutina</i>, <i>Blumeria</i>) to mid- and late-stage assemblages dominated by filamentous fungi (e.g., <i>Aspergillus</i>, <i>Cladosporium</i>, <i>Alternaria</i>). Notably, several zoonotic pathogenic genera were detected throughout all rearing stages, highlighting the potential risks of airborne fungi to animal health, occupational exposure, and environmental safety under winter ventilation restrictions. This study characterizes a stage-dependent pattern of increasing airborne fungal concentrations accompanied by shifts in particle size distribution and community composition under winter confined conditions. The findings provide a crucial scientific basis for optimizing winter ventilation and environmental management strategies, improving environmental control technologies, establishing airborne biosafety standards, and developing targeted fungal monitoring and prevention technologies.