Multigeneration Cross-Contamination of Mail with Bacillus anthracis Spores

Details

• Alternative Title:
  PLoS One
• Personal Author:
  Edmonds, Jason ; Lindquist, H. D. Alan ; Sabol, Jonathan ; Martinez, Kenneth ; Shadomy, Sean ; Cymet, Tyler ; Emanuel, Peter
• Description:
  The release of biological agents, including those which could be used in biowarfare or bioterrorism in large urban areas, has been a concern for governments for nearly three decades. Previous incidents from Sverdlosk and the postal anthrax attack of 2001 have raised questions on the mechanism of spread of Bacillus anthracis spores as an aerosol or contaminant. Prior studies have demonstrated that Bacillus atrophaeus is easily transferred through simulated mail handing, but no reports have demonstrated this ability with Bacillus anthracis spores, which have morphological differences that may affect adhesion properties between spore and formite. In this study, equipment developed to simulate interactions across three generations of envelopes subjected to tumbling and mixing was used to evaluate the potential for cross-contamination of B. anthracis spores in simulated mail handling. In these experiments, we found that the potential for cross-contamination through letter tumbling from one generation to the next varied between generations while the presence of a fluidizer had no statistical impact on the transfer of material. Likewise, the presence or absence of a fluidizer had no statistically significant impact on cross-contamination levels or reaerosolization from letter opening.
• Subjects:
  Anthrax Bacillus Anthracis Bioterrorism Environmental Monitoring Equipment Contamination Humans Postal Service Spores, Bacterial Workplace
• Source:
  PLoS One. 11(4).
• Pubmed ID:
  27123934
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4849716
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048036
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9cc9e15ec9abe555893142a6876ad4b04daa7c0fb76cf569f5161288b84a6c6ea9d2ca37360984461a9b0e64da3da2834f1ed58d9b1aa303027cf5723577e7ad
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/39334/cdc_39334_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.76 MB ]