Radosevich Molly T, Dobson Sarah, Weaver Amanda K, Lampman Phinehas, Kollath Daniel, Couper Lisa, Campbell Grace, Taylor John W, Remais Justin V, Kobziar Leda, Markwiese James, Head Jennifer R
University of California Berkeley, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2025 Apr 28;12(5):580-586. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.4c01089. eCollection 2025 May 13.
Coccidioidomycosis is an emerging fungal infection caused by inhalation of spp. spores. While airborne dispersal is critical to transmission, limited recovery of the pathogen from air has hindered understanding of the aerosolization and transport of spores. Here, we examine uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) with portable, active air samplers as a novel means of capturing aerosolized and characterizing emissions and exposure risk. We sampled in September 2023 in eastern San Luis Obispo County, California, in an area with confirmed in soils. We completed 41 20 min flights across 14 sites using UAS equipped with an 8 L/min bioaerosol sampler and a low-cost particulate matter sensor. We sampled source soils and air under ambient conditions using one UAS at 1-10 m above ground level, and under a simulated high-dust event using two UAS, one at <2 m height and one at 5-12 m. We detected DNA in 2 of 41 air samples (4.9%), both under ambient conditions at 8 m above ground level, representing the highest known height of airborne detection. Spatially explicit UAS-based sampling could enhance understanding of aerobiology and enable detection in hard-to-reach or hazardous air masses, including dust storms and wildfire smoke.
球孢子菌病是一种由吸入球孢子菌属孢子引起的新发真菌感染。虽然空气传播对其传播至关重要，但从空气中有限地回收病原体阻碍了对孢子雾化和传输的理解。在此，我们研究了配备便携式主动空气采样器的无人机系统（UAS），将其作为捕获雾化球孢子菌并表征排放和暴露风险的一种新方法。2023年9月，我们在加利福尼亚州圣路易斯奥比斯波县东部一个土壤中已确认存在球孢子菌的区域进行了采样。我们使用配备了8升/分钟生物气溶胶采样器和低成本颗粒物传感器的无人机，在14个地点完成了41次20分钟的飞行。我们使用一架无人机在地面上方1 - 10米的环境条件下对源土壤和空气进行采样，并使用两架无人机在模拟高尘事件下进行采样，一架在<2米高度，另一架在5 - 12米高度。我们在41个空气样本中的2个（4.9%）中检测到了球孢子菌DNA，均是在地面上方8米的环境条件下，这代表了已知的空气中球孢子菌检测的最高高度。基于无人机的空间明确采样可以增强对球孢子菌空气生物学的理解，并能够在难以到达或危险的气团中进行检测，包括沙尘暴和野火烟雾。
