A method to quantify infectious airborne pathogens at concentrations below the threshold of quantification by culture

Thumbnail Image
Supplemental Files
Date
2013-04-01
Authors
Cutler, Timothy
Zimmerman, Jeffrey
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract

In aerobiology, dose-response studies are used to estimate the risk of infection to a susceptible host presented by exposure to a specific dose of an airborne pathogen. In the research setting, host- and pathogen-specific factors that affect the dose-response continuum can be accounted for by experimental design, but the requirement to precisely determine the dose of infectious pathogen to which the host was exposed is often challenging. By definition, quantification of viable airborne pathogens is based on the culture of micro-organisms, but some airborne pathogens are transmissible at concentrations below the threshold of quantification by culture. In this paper we present an approach to the calculation of exposure dose at microbiologically unquantifiable levels using an application of the “continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) model” and the validation of this approach using rhodamine B dye as a surrogate for aerosolized microbial pathogens in a dynamic aerosol toroid (DAT).

Series Number
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Type
article
Comments

This article is from The Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 77 (2013): 95. Posted with permission.

Rights Statement
Copyright
Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2013
Funding
DOI
Supplemental Resources
Source
Collections