Fate of Bioterrorism-Relevant Viruses and Bacteria, Including Spores, Aerosolized into an Indoor Air Environment

Abstract

An aerosol physics test facility was used in a series of eight experiments to gather an integrated comprehensive broad base of data on the fate of surrogates of microorganisms that cause smallpox, plague, glanders, anthrax, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. The results are directly relevant to the public health issue of how to protect the occupants of buildings against bioterrorism. The test conditions were directly relevant to the indoor air environment situation, and the results can be generalized to buildings that are now occupied. The reductions in concentrations of relevant viruses and bacteria--including gram-negative fermenters and nonfermenters, gram-positive cocci and bacilli, and spores--were substantial and statistically robust. The data show that the bioterrorism-relevant aerosolized viruses and bacteria, including spores, respond like small particulates to the primary (electrical) forces that control the distribution of small particulates in a room. Further, these relevant microorganisms respond like small particulates to means designed to control airborne particulates. The results could be used to anticipate the effects of a bioterrorist attack on the public health, provide information on means that can be used to minimize such effects, and used to make decisions on how best to protect occupants of specific buildings at minimal cost and with assurance of success.

Antimicrobial, Antimalarial, and Antileishmanial Activities of Mono‐ and Bis‐quaternary Pyridinium Compounds

“…Biosafety level 1 and 2 agents have been widely used as model organisms and recently Utrup and Frey (18) used several model organisms as surrogates of biological threat agents. These include Bacillus subtilis for B. anthracis (anthrax), E. coli for Variola major (Smallpox), Pseudomonas fluorescens for Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis) (18).…”

“…These include Bacillus subtilis for B. anthracis (anthrax), E. coli for Variola major (Smallpox), Pseudomonas fluorescens for Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis) (18). The present paper reports results of an initial screen of a series of quaternary pyridinium oximes (19, 20) against a number of lower pathogenicity BSL-1 and 2 model organisms.…”

Development of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assays for Detection and Quantification of Surrogate Biological Warfare Agents in Building Debris and Leachate

“…Specifically, Bacillus atrophaeus has been used as a surrogate for B. anthracis in studies to develop methods to detect B. atrophaeus spores (8,52,55), to determine the effects of electric charge and field on the viability of airborne bacteria (34), to develop methods for viability assessment of Bacillus spores (31), to evaluate the effect of electric beam irradiation for inactivation of Bacillus spores in envelopes (16), and to investigate the effectiveness of decontamination methods against B. atrophaeus spores present on furniture (4,44). Serratia marcescens has been used as a surrogate for Yersinia pestis for examining the fate of pathogens in indoor air (56).…”

Detection of Bacteriophage in Droplets

“…Utrup and Frey found that 25 minutes following the initial aerosolisation, the levels of detectable MS2 had dropped by 28 % relative to the sample taken five minutes after aerosolisation (Utrup and Frey, 2004). This is a higher recovery than ours, however their methods and equipment differed, so realistically the results cannot be directly compared.…”