Bioaerosol Sampling in Clinical Settings: A Promising, Noninvasive Approach for Detecting Respiratory Viruses.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Seeking a noninvasive method to conduct surveillance for respiratory pathogens,
we sought to examine the usefulness of 2 types of off-the-shelf aerosol samplers to
detect respiratory viruses in Singapore. METHODS: In this pilot study, we ran the
aerosol samplers several times each week with patients present in the patient waiting
areas at 3 primary health clinics during the months of April and May 2016. We used
a SKC BioSampler with a BioLite Air Sampling Pump (run for 60 min at 8 L/min) and
SKC AirChek TOUCH personal air samplers with polytetrafluoroethylene Teflon filter
cassettes (run for 180 min at 5 L/min). The aerosol specimens and controls were studied
with molecular assays for influenza A virus, influenza B virus, adenoviruses, and
coronaviruses. RESULTS: Overall, 16 (33.3%) of the 48 specimens indicated evidence
of at least 1 respiratory pathogen, with 1 (2%) positive for influenza A virus, 3
(6%) positive for influenza B virus, and 12 (25%) positive for adenovirus. CONCLUSIONS:
Although we were not able to correlate molecular detection with individual patient
illness, patients with common acute respiratory illnesses were present during the
samplings. Combined with molecular assays, it would suggest that aerosol sampling
has potential as a noninvasive method for novel respiratory virus detection in clinical
settings.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14620Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1093/ofid/ofw259Publication Info
Nguyen, Tham T; Poh, Mee K; Low, Jenny; Kalimuddin, Shirin; Thoon, Koh C; Ng, Wai
C; ... Gray, Gregory C (2017). Bioaerosol Sampling in Clinical Settings: A Promising, Noninvasive Approach for Detecting
Respiratory Viruses. Open Forum Infect Dis, 4(1). pp. ofw259. 10.1093/ofid/ofw259. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14620.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Gregory C Gray
Visiting Professor of Global Studies
Gregory C. Gray MD, MPH, FIDSA is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Professor
at Duke University with three affiliations: The Division of Infectious Diseases in
Duke University’s School of Medicine, the Duke Global Health Institute, and the Duke
Nicholas School of the Environment. He also serves as a Professor in the Program in
Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Global Health Institute at Duke-NUS Medical School,
Singapore and as a Professor of Global Health at Duke Kunshan Uni

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