Long-Term Sampling of Viable Airborne Viruses

A novel bioaerosol sampling technique, which utilizes the bubbling process in the collection fluid, has recently been developed and found feasible for a long-term personal sampling of airborne bacteria and fungal spores as it maintained high physical collection efficiency and high microbial recovery rate for robust and stress-sensitive microorganisms. Further tests have shown that the new technique also has potential to collect viable airborne viruses, particularly when utilized for a short-term sampling of robust strains. As the short-term sampling has a limited application for assessing personal exposure in bioaerosol-contaminated environments, the present study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of the "bubbler" for a long-term monitoring of viable airborne viruses. Liquid droplets containing Vaccinia virions (that simulate Variola, a causative agent of smallpox) were aerosolized with a Collison nebulizer into a 400-liter test chamber, from which the droplets were collected by three identical prototype personal samplers in the liquid medium during different time periods ranging from 1 to 6 hours. The viral content was measured in the collection fluid of the sampler and in the initial suspension of the nebulizer using the fluorescence-based method and by enumerating plaque-forming units per milliliter of the fluids. The relative recovery of viruses after the sampling act was determined. The results show that the "bubbling" technique has consistent collection efficiency over time and is capable of maintaining the viability of Vaccinia, for at least 6 hours, with a loss in recovery rate of about 10%. The data demonstrate a good potential of the new technique for measuring personal exposure to robust airborne viruses over a long period.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex

Rapid detection of airborne viruses by personal bioaerosol sampler combined with the PCR device.

A new personal sampler had been previously developed and verified for monitoring of viable airborne viruses. The aims of this project were to investigate a possibility of the utilization of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to speed up the time consuming analytical procedures and to evaluate a lower detection limit of the combined (sampler-PCR) device. Tenfold serial dilutions of the initial suspension of the Vaccinia virus were aerosolized in the chamber and airborne viruses were monitored by two simultaneously operating samplers. The results of monitoring were successfully obtained by a standard plaque assay (live microbes) and by the PCR method (total DNA). The corresponding calculations to identify the minimal detectable concentration in the ambient air were then performed. It was found that the minimal detectable concentration of airborne viruses in the ambient air depends on the sampling time. As demonstrated, such concentration should be at least 125ױ03 PFU m-3 for a sampling time of as short as 1 min. The detectable concentration decreases with the increase of the sampling time and reaches 25ױ03 and 10ױ03 PFU m-3 for 5 and 12.5 min of sampling respectively.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex

New personal sampler for viable airborne viruses: feasibility study

While various sampling methods exist for collecting and enumerating airborne bacteria and fungi, no credible methodology has yet been developed for airborne viruses. A new sampling method for monitoring the personal exposure to bioaerosol particles has recently been developed and evaluated with bacteria and fungi. In this method, bacterial/fungal aerosol is aspirated and transported through a porous medium, which is submerged into a liquid layer. As the air is split into numerous bubbles, the particles are scavenged by these bubbles and effectively removed. The current feasibility study was initiated to evaluate the efficiency of the new personal sampler prototype ("bubbler") with airborne viable viruses. Two common viral strains, Influenza (stress-sensitive) and Vaccinia (robust), were aerosolized in the test chamber and collected by two identical "bubblers" that operated simultaneously for a duration of upto 5 min. A virus maintenance liquid, proven to be the optimum collecting environment for the test organisms, was used as a collection fluid. After sampling, the collecting fluid was analyzed and the viral recovery rate was determined. The overall recovery (affected not only by the sampling but also by the aerosolization and the aerosol transport) was 20% for Influenza virus and 89% for Vaccinia virus. The new sampling method was found feasible for the collection and enumeration of robust airborne viruses.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex