AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Aerosolization of Ebola Virus Surrogate in Wastewater Systems
MARI TITCOMBE LEE, Amy Pruden, Linsey Marr, Virginia Tech
Abstract Number: 464 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Aerosol transmission of Ebola virus between humans remains controversial; however, studies with animal models have shown that inhalation exposure to Ebola virus can lead to infection. Patients with Ebola Virus Disease expel large volumes of diarrhea, containing high concentrations of live virus, and western flushing toilets and sanitary sewer systems are known to produce bioaerosols. The combination of these two factors suggests that hospitals and sanitary sewer workers may potentially be exposed to Ebola virus bioaerosols. To gain mechanistic insight into the potential for aerosolization of the virus, we are investigating the partitioning of Ebola virus surrogates between biosolids, the aqueous phase, and surfaces likely to be encountered in western wastewater systems (porcelain, PVC, and concrete). We are characterizing the bioaerosol plume produced by flushing toilets and a recirculating model sanitary sewer containing biosolids spiked with Ebola virus surrogates. We are measuring the resulting particle size distributions with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) (10 nanometers - 20 micrometer total range). We are also collecting size selected surrogate bioaerosol by cascade impaction for analysis by plaque assay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR), to characterize the inactivation of surrogate virus and total viral genome copies, respectively.