AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
A Novel Bioaerosol Sampler for the Preservation of Viral Infectivity
DANIEL VERREAULT, Caroline Duchaine, Solange Levesque, Samira Mubareka, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Research Institute
Abstract Number: 50 Working Group: Bioaerosols
Abstract Viral particles may be aerosolized through various means. Once airborne, these viruses are exposed to environmental factors that may affect their potential to cause infection in susceptible hosts. The infectious potential of an aerosol may be underestimated if the viral particles are damaged during sampling. A novel bioaerosol sampler was developed to capture airborne particles while maintaining viral infectivity. Four bacteriophages (MS2, Phi6, PhiX174 and PR772) were used. These viruses were nebulized and sampled with the novel sampler and compared with 37 mm diameter 0.3 µm polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filters. Material from both samplers was recovered and analysed by culture and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The proportion of infectious particles to total genomic quantification was compared. Preliminary data revealed that phages MS2, PhiX174 and PR772 retain their infectivity more efficiently when sampled with the novel sampler, whereas Phi6 viability was more efficiently preserved with the control PTFE filter. Although non-enveloped viruses seem to respond positively to the novel sampler, more enveloped viruses will need to be put to the test before any general conclusions can be drawn regarding the influence of the envelope. The novel sampler could allow better estimations of viral integrity in aerosols.