Quantification of influenza virus RNA in aerosols in patient rooms

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beezhold, Donald H. ; Chu DKW ; Cowling BJ ; Leung NHL ; Li Y ; Lindsley, William G. ; Peiris JSM ; Seto W-H ; Yen H-L ; Yu H ; Zhou J
• Description:
  Background: The potential for human influenza viruses to spread through fine particle aerosols remains controversial. The objective of our study was to determine whether influenza viruses could be detected in fine particles in hospital rooms. Methods and Findings: We sampled the air in 2-bed patient isolation rooms for four hours, placing cyclone samplers at heights of 1.5m and 1.0m. We collected ten air samples each in the presence of at least one patient with confirmed influenza A virus infection, and tested the samples by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We recovered influenza A virus RNA from 5/10 collections (50%); 4/5 were from particles>4 um, 1/5 from 1-4 um, and none in particles<1 um. Conclusions: Detection of influenza virus RNA in aerosols at low concentrations in patient rooms suggests that healthcare workers and visitors might have frequent exposure to airborne influenza virus in proximity to infected patients. A limitation of our study was the small sample size. Further studies should be done to quantify the concentration of viable influenza virus in healthcare settings, and factors affecting the detection of influenza viruses in fine particles in the air. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Communicable Diseases Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Influenza, Human Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Viral Diseases

  More +
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Airborne Particulates Air Contaminants Air Contamination Air Pollutants Health Care Facilities Health Care Personnel Health Care Workers Infectious Diseases Influenza Medical Facilities Particulates Respiratory Diseases Respiratory Infections Sampling Viral Diseases

  More +
• ISSN:
  1932-6203
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047624
• Citation:
  PLoS One 2016 Feb; 11(2):e0148669
• Contact Point Address:
  Benjamin J. Cowling, WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China
• Email:
  bcowling@hku.hk
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  PLoS One
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5094247ee98283166a47a5e41c66efb8a5012c4cb7e986ccfd52afadf965643af4cacf76812c4f3a2e224751a8c7a7244e4e1959c5f5be233b49e0b80aeca190
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202639/cdc_202639_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.05 MB ]