Remediating Office Environments of Spore-Forming Bacteria.
This study examines decontamination processes that were developed on an emergency basis to eliminate Bacillus anthracis spores from deliberately contaminated buildings. The recommended steps include a survey with sampling, the removal of sensitive items, and HEPA vacuuming of all readily available s...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Occupational & Environmental Hygiene Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 585 - 593 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Oct2010
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=109613813&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 109613813 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 15459624 V1L jtl: Journal of Occupational & Environmental Hygiene issn: 15459624 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Oct2010 vid: 7 iid: 10 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 109613813 2013074006 10.1080/15459624.2010.508951 109613813 ppf: 585 ppct: 8 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Remediating Office Environments of Spore-Forming Bacteria. aug: au: Johnson, Luke Smith, Myron L. Begin, Melissa Fraser, Bruce Miller, J. David affil: Department of Chemistry, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada sug: ab: This study examines decontamination processes that were developed on an emergency basis to eliminate Bacillus anthracis spores from deliberately contaminated buildings. The recommended steps include a survey with sampling, the removal of sensitive items, and HEPA vacuuming of all readily available surfaces, followed by biocide treatment and subsequent analyses for viable cells. There are several analytical challenges posed by this approach. These include the ability to discriminate the added strain from naturally occurring resident microbes, determining detection limits for anthrax spores in settled dusts, and detecting viable but nonculturable spores. There are also logistical issues relating to the various skill sets required from investigation to reconstruction. In the present study, a model office was constructed, and a strain of Bacillus pumilus was isolated from the carpet and reintroduced to the office in excess. The abundance of the B. pumilus strain was monitored in settled dust using a strain-specific, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR)-based detection method following repeated HEPA vacuum cleanings. The QPCR method had a limit of detection corresponding to ≤102 colony forming units per gram of settled dust. QPCR results were compared with measures of dust recoveries and fungal glucan and endotoxin levels in the dust samples. The largest fraction (ca. 81%) of added spores was recovered during the first HEPA cleaning. Subsequent cleanings resulted in incrementally lower recoveries, with removal of 93% of the initial inoculum by the third HEPA vacuuming. HEPA vacuuming prior to removal of items such as office contents and furnishings would result in much less resuspension of dust and limiting the extent of contamination. This approach also ensures that residual contaminants are as low as can be reasonably achieved. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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