Health risk assessment of residential characteristics and indoor air quality of naturally ventilated buildings in Nigeria

Owing to Nigeria's growing population, millions of its urban populace live in areas and houses with low environmental standards resulting in changing patterns of disease transmission and mortality. This pilot study assessed indoor environmental factors in naturally ventilated residential buildings (NVRB) and explored association with reported illness. A questionnaire and environmental data loggers were used to collect household building characteristics and indoor environmental data from selected residential neighbourhoods in Bauchi, Nigeria. Indoor CO2 (mean 584 ppm) data suggested adequate ventilation in the majority of houses, while PM2.5 (63 μm/m ) and PM10 (228 μm/m ) concentration exceeded the WHO guideline value of 25 μm/m and 50 μm/m respectively. Correlation was found between some environmental characteristics and indoor air quality measurements and certain illnesses including tuberculosis, meningitis, asthma and chicken pox.. 3 3 3