2011
DOI: 10.1177/0143624411410619
|View full text |Cite
|
Sign up to set email alerts
|

An assessment of, and response to, potential cross-contamination routes due to defective appliance water trap seals in building drainage systems

Abstract: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), centred on Southeast Asia in 2002 and 2003, sparked fears of an uncontrollable pandemic. The outbreak at one housing complex in Hong Kong resulted in a disproportionately large number of cases with 321 people contracting the virus, resulting in 42 fatalities. This outbreak led to an investigation by World Health Organisation, which firmly laid the blame for the spread of the virus in the housing complex on defects in the building drainage and vent syste… Show more

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...
2
1
1
1

Citation Types

0
31
0

Year Published

2015
2015
2024
2024

Publication Types

Select...
8

Relationship

0
8

Authors

Journals

citations
Cited by 30 publications
(31 citation statements)
references
References 33 publications
(50 reference statements)
0
31
0
Order By: Relevance
“…While research into the potential mechanisms of the SARS transmission at Amoy Gardens proved that there was an airflow path between the sanitary plumbing system and different parts of the building when the U-trap had no water seal [ 14 , 15 ], it was only hypothesised that pathogens could be transmitted within these airflows and could deliver an infective exposure dose. This paper sets out to test the WHO hypothesis by qualitatively and quantitatively tracking the transmission of a model organism chosen to represent pathogens generally within the airflows of a full scale pilot test-rig representing a two storey sanitary plumbing system designed to current European standards [ 16 ].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While research into the potential mechanisms of the SARS transmission at Amoy Gardens proved that there was an airflow path between the sanitary plumbing system and different parts of the building when the U-trap had no water seal [ 14 , 15 ], it was only hypothesised that pathogens could be transmitted within these airflows and could deliver an infective exposure dose. This paper sets out to test the WHO hypothesis by qualitatively and quantitatively tracking the transmission of a model organism chosen to represent pathogens generally within the airflows of a full scale pilot test-rig representing a two storey sanitary plumbing system designed to current European standards [ 16 ].…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In these apartments, floor drains in the bathrooms had a direct connection to the sewer pipes running down the outside of these buildings. However, when not filled with water, it was possible for sewage-contaminated aerosols to leak back into the bathroom-particularly if the extraction fans were on-to contaminate the apartment air and then to be extracted out into the gaps between the tower blocks [25]. Virus-contaminated aerosols could then be carried up on the upwelling air between the tower blocks and enter apartments in the adjacent towers through other open windows if kitchen or bathroom extraction fans were operating, creating a negative pressure sink within these apartments.…”
Section: Specific Examples In Specific Scenariosmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Atmospheric loading of CoV as aerosols from wastewater provides a more direct route for human exposure [47] which is so far less understood. The virus that enters the sewer systems forms virus-laden aerosols [7] through mechanisms of cross-contamination [108] , [109] . Unit operation in WWTP such as biological oxidation normally employed for treatment of sewage/wastewater influences the aerosol formation due to aeration operation.…”
Section: Environmental Exposure Routes – Virus Transmissionmentioning
confidence: 99%