Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013 Sep;79(18):5728-34. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01030-13. Epub 2013 Jul 12.
Fomites can serve as routes of transmission for both enteric and respiratory pathogens. The present study examined the effect of low and high relative humidity on fomite-to-finger transfer efficiency of five model organisms from several common inanimate surfaces (fomites). Nine fomites representing porous and nonporous surfaces of different compositions were studied. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus thuringiensis, MS2 coliphage, and poliovirus 1 were placed on fomites in 10-μl drops and allowed to dry for 30 min under low (15% to 32%) or high (40% to 65%) relative humidity. Fomite-to-finger transfers were performed using 1.0 kg/cm(2) of pressure for 10 s. Transfer efficiencies were greater under high relative humidity for both porous and nonporous surfaces. Most organisms on average had greater transfer efficiencies under high relative humidity than under low relative humidity. Nonporous surfaces had a greater transfer efficiency (up to 57%) than porous surfaces (<6.8%) under low relative humidity, as well as under high relative humidity (nonporous, up to 79.5%; porous, <13.4%). Transfer efficiency also varied with fomite material and organism type. The data generated can be used in quantitative microbial risk assessment models to assess the risk of infection from fomite-transmitted human pathogens and the relative levels of exposure to different types of fomites and microorganisms.
污染物可以作为肠道和呼吸道病原体的传播途径。本研究考察了低相对湿度和高相对湿度对五种来自常见无生命表面（污染物）的模型生物的污染物到手指转移效率的影响。研究了代表不同成分的多孔和非多孔表面的 9 种污染物。将大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、苏云金芽孢杆菌、MS2 噬菌体和脊髓灰质炎病毒 1 以 10 μl 的液滴置于污染物上，并在低（15%至 32%）或高（40%至 65%）相对湿度下干燥 30 分钟。使用 1.0 kg/cm(2) 的压力进行 10 秒的污染物到手指转移。对于多孔和非多孔表面，高相对湿度下的转移效率均高于低相对湿度。大多数生物体在高相对湿度下的转移效率高于低相对湿度，平均而言，高相对湿度下的转移效率高于低相对湿度（非多孔表面高达 79.5%；多孔表面高达 13.4%）。非多孔表面在低相对湿度（高达 57%）和高相对湿度（非多孔表面，高达 79.5%；多孔表面，<13.4%）下的转移效率高于多孔表面（<6.8%）。转移效率也随污染物材料和生物体类型而变化。生成的数据可用于定量微生物风险评估模型，以评估通过污染物传播的人类病原体感染的风险以及接触不同类型污染物和微生物的相对水平。
