International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Department of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Indoor Air. 2017 Sep;27(5):988-1000. doi: 10.1111/ina.12380. Epub 2017 May 5.
Fluorescent particles can be markers of bioaerosols and are therefore relevant to nosocomial infections. To date, little research has focused on fluorescent particles in occupied indoor environments, particularly hospitals. In this study, we aimed to determine the spatial and temporal variation of fluorescent particles in two large hospitals in Brisbane, Australia (one for adults and one for children). We used an Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS) to identify fluorescent particle sources, as well as their contribution to total particle concentrations. We found that the average concentrations of both fluorescent and non-fluorescent particles were higher in the adults' hospital (0.06×10 and 1.20×10 particles/m , respectively) than in the children's hospital (0.03×10 and 0.33×10 particles/m , respectively) (P<.01). However, the proportion of fluorescent particles was higher in the children's hospital. Based on the concentration results and using activity diaries, we were able to identify sources of particle production within the two hospitals. We demonstrated that particles can be easily generated by a variety of everyday activities, which are potential sources of exposure to pathogens. Future studies to further investigate their role in nosocomial infection are warranted.
荧光粒子可以作为生物气溶胶的标志物，因此与医院感染有关。迄今为止，很少有研究关注居住室内环境中的荧光粒子，特别是医院。在这项研究中，我们旨在确定澳大利亚布里斯班的两家大医院（一家成人医院，一家儿童医院）中荧光粒子的时空变化。我们使用紫外线空气动力学粒子粒径谱仪（UVAPS）来识别荧光粒子源及其对总粒子浓度的贡献。我们发现，成人医院的荧光粒子和非荧光粒子的平均浓度均高于儿童医院（分别为 0.06×10 和 1.20×10 个/立方米和 0.03×10 和 0.33×10 个/立方米）（P<.01）。然而，儿童医院的荧光粒子比例更高。基于浓度结果并使用活动日记，我们能够确定两所医院内的粒子产生源。我们证明，各种日常活动都可以轻易地产生粒子，这些活动可能是病原体暴露的潜在来源。未来的研究需要进一步调查它们在医院感染中的作用。
