Survival And Transmission
05-21-2014 | 03:08 PM
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Survival And Transmission
Of Aircraft Cabin Pathogens, that is. Gross.
Survival and transmission of selected pathogens on aircraft cabin surfaces
Kiril Vaglenov
Auburn University
Auburn, AL, United States
Phone: 334 844 4484
[email protected]
Current trends in tourism and trade allow millions of passengers to fly affordably both domestically and internationally, often over vast distances in a short amount of time. Many air travelers are concerned about the risks of catching a disease from other passengers given the long time spent in crowded air cabins. Our research team of microbiologists and engineers at Auburn University addresses that concern. This report describes the results of our first step in investigating this potential problem. The project was partially funded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine through the National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE), Cooperative Agreement 10-C-RITE-AU. Although the FAA has sponsored this project, it neither endorses nor rejects the findings of this research.
We obtained six different types of material from a major airline carrier: armrest, plastic tray table, metal toilet button, window shade, seat pocket cloth, and leather. These surfaces are exposed to frequent contact with passengers’ hands and body fluids during flight. In order for disease-causing bacteria to be transmitted from a cabin surface to a person, it must survive the environmental conditions in the airplane. Two major disease-causing bacteria were tested for survival and transmission times from these surfaces in the presence of simulated human saliva and sweat. We included a molecular test for bacterial cells that were not culturable. The bacteria used in the study, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are well known pathogens. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a type of E. coli that usually causes diarrhea in adults, but can cause other maladies such as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which can be fatal in children less than five years old. The MRSA bacterium is also well known since it continues to spread and is resistant to almost all drugs. It can cause serious ailments ranging from wound infections, skin diseases, pneumonia, and sepsis. Our data show that both of these bacteria can survive for days on the selected types of surfaces independent of the type of simulated body fluid present, and those pose a risk of transmission via skin contact.
Currently, we have ongoing trials on the survival and transmission of other human pathogenic bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium causes tuberculosis and can be highly resistant to a wide variety of available antibiotics. Our future plans include the exploration of effective cleaning and disinfection strategies, as well as testing surfaces that have natural antimicrobial properties to determine whether these surfaces help reduce the persistence of disease-causing bacteria in the passenger aircraft cabin.
Survival and transmission of selected pathogens on aircraft cabin surfaces
Kiril Vaglenov
Auburn University
Auburn, AL, United States
Phone: 334 844 4484
[email protected]
Current trends in tourism and trade allow millions of passengers to fly affordably both domestically and internationally, often over vast distances in a short amount of time. Many air travelers are concerned about the risks of catching a disease from other passengers given the long time spent in crowded air cabins. Our research team of microbiologists and engineers at Auburn University addresses that concern. This report describes the results of our first step in investigating this potential problem. The project was partially funded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine through the National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE), Cooperative Agreement 10-C-RITE-AU. Although the FAA has sponsored this project, it neither endorses nor rejects the findings of this research.
We obtained six different types of material from a major airline carrier: armrest, plastic tray table, metal toilet button, window shade, seat pocket cloth, and leather. These surfaces are exposed to frequent contact with passengers’ hands and body fluids during flight. In order for disease-causing bacteria to be transmitted from a cabin surface to a person, it must survive the environmental conditions in the airplane. Two major disease-causing bacteria were tested for survival and transmission times from these surfaces in the presence of simulated human saliva and sweat. We included a molecular test for bacterial cells that were not culturable. The bacteria used in the study, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are well known pathogens. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a type of E. coli that usually causes diarrhea in adults, but can cause other maladies such as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which can be fatal in children less than five years old. The MRSA bacterium is also well known since it continues to spread and is resistant to almost all drugs. It can cause serious ailments ranging from wound infections, skin diseases, pneumonia, and sepsis. Our data show that both of these bacteria can survive for days on the selected types of surfaces independent of the type of simulated body fluid present, and those pose a risk of transmission via skin contact.
Currently, we have ongoing trials on the survival and transmission of other human pathogenic bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium causes tuberculosis and can be highly resistant to a wide variety of available antibiotics. Our future plans include the exploration of effective cleaning and disinfection strategies, as well as testing surfaces that have natural antimicrobial properties to determine whether these surfaces help reduce the persistence of disease-causing bacteria in the passenger aircraft cabin.
