Viewpoint: Can qPCR Replace the Standard Plaque Assay in the ASTM F1671 to Assess Personal Protective Equipment Barrier Performance?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Di Giuseppe M ; Fisher EM ; Greenawald L ; Pollard, Jonisha P.
• Description:
  Personal protective equipment (PPE) is an important measure within the infection prevention hierarchy of controls to protect the wearer from hazards, including potentially harmful pathogens. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at constant risk of exposure to pathogens and acquiring infections. Also, public safety workers such as firefighters and emergency medical service personnel who work in unpredictable environments, such as hospitals, clinical laboratories and ambulances, are also at risk of contracting infectious diseases through direct exposure to blood and other body fluids (Polder et al., 1991; The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 2019). These workers rely on PPE, such as gowns, gloves and respirators, for protection. ... The standard plaque assay as specified in ASTM F1671 to assess viral penetration resistance of PPE has the potential to be improved in relation to speed, reproducibility and material compatibility. Saving two days to assess the viral penetration during PPE shortages combined with the higher throughput of the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and its larger applicability to fabrics would dramatically increase the availability of PPE, potentially reducing the spread of infection and saving lives. For these reasons, a faster, more accurate and more versatile technique such as qPCR should be considered as a valid method to assess the protective performance of PPE. Future direct-evidence studies are needed that directly compare qPCR to the gold standard SPA method for validation of the argument made by the authors in this article. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety
• Keywords:
  Fabrics Infection Prevention Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Clothing
• ISSN:
  0955-6222
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  385-392
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069826
• Citation:
  Int J Clothing Sci Technol 2024 Jun; 36(3):385-392
• Contact Point Address:
  Michelangelo Di Giuseppe, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b72751d626e824368d6faa38ec3811c552411e8e2d1fc5250216a677e714ca78427e0323e12eedeaae649386bccfe7284c33df107a2cc7312c0d3bad3d36b53
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208175/cdc_208175_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 116.88 KB ]