AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Viral and Bacterial Microbiome of Air in a Daycare Center
AARON PRUSSIN II, Kyle Bibby, Linsey Marr, Virginia Tech
Abstract Number: 452 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Viruses are known to cause a wide array of diseases in humans, animals, and plants. The study of viral bioaerosol community structure has remained largely unexplored. Recent developments in viral metagenomics provide a great opportunity for improving knowledge about viral communities and disease transmission. However, there remain significant challenges related to the study of viral bioaerosols, compared to viruses in other environments such as water, humans, and soil.
Previous research has examined the bacterial and fungal microbiomes in many indoor environments, such as homes, workplaces, retail stores, schools, and hospitals; however published studies on the viral microbiome in indoor air have been limited. One hotbed of combined microbiological and human activity is daycare centers, which are likely to harbor numerous and diverse microbes in the indoor environment, thanks in part to the activities of young children who have not yet gained the ability or willingness to control their bodily fluids. Children that attend daycare centers are at two to four times greater risk of developing infectious diseases and get sicker than children cared for at home. We provide a perspective on the importance of studying viral bioaerosols, the challenges of studying community structure, and preliminary results of the viral and bacterial microbiome of indoor air in a daycare center. Initial results demonstrate the high-relative abundance of Propionibacteria phages in air and the dominance of transport of viral community structure.