Distribution and Characterization of Airborne Respiratory Pathogens in Public Facilities

Su-Jeong Hwang; Ho-Cheol Yun; Pyeong-Tae Ku; Ju-Hee Sim; Young-Wook Cha; Mi-Ok Lee

doi:10.4167/jbv.2018.48.4.121

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Hwang, Yun, Ku, Sim, Cha, and Lee: Distribution and Characterization of Airborne Respiratory Pathogens in Public Facilities

Original Article

Journal of Bacteriology and Virology 2018; 48(4): 121-129.

Published online: 31 December 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4167/jbv.2018.48.4.121

Distribution and Characterization of Airborne Respiratory Pathogens in Public Facilities

Su-Jeong Hwang, Ho-Cheol Yun, Pyeong-Tae Ku, Ju-Hee Sim, Young-Wook Cha, Mi-Ok Lee

Busan Metropolitan City Institute of Health & Environment, Busan, Korea.

Corresponding: Su-Jeong Hwang. Busan Metropolitan City Institute of Health & Environment, 120, Hambakbong-ro 140 beon-gil, Buk-gu, Busan 46616, Korea. Phone : +82-51-309-2815, Fax : +82-51-309-2819, kies98@korea.kr

Received 5 October 2018 Revised 11 October 2018 Accepted 12 October 2018

The Korean Society for Microbiology and The Korean Society of Virology

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).

Abstract

Respiratory infections, which are caused by airborne pathogens, are the most common disease of all ages worldwide. This study was conducted to characterize the airborne respiratory pathogens in the public facilities in Busan, South Korea. A total of 260 public facilities were investigated in 2017, 52 seasonal indoor air from 2 hospitals and 208 indoor air samples from 208 randomly selected daycare centers. Among respiratory pathogen, 8 viral pathogens including human adenovirus (HAdV), human bocavirus (HBoV), human rhinovirus (HRV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human coronavirus (HCoV) and influenza virus (IFV), and 3 bacterial pathogens including Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Bordetella pertussis, and Chlamydophila pneumoniae, were investigated by multiplex real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Pathogens were detected in 9 cases (3.4%). Among 9 positive samples, 6 (2.3%) cases were positive for HBoV and 3 (1.2%) cases were positive for IFV. All the positive cases were detected in daycare centers. Additionally, the concentration of HBoV was determined. In HBoV-positive samples, the cycle threshold (Ct) values of HBoV were 29.73~36.84, which are corresponding to the viral concentration of 4.91 × 10⁰ ~ 9.57 × 10² copies/ml. Serotype distribution of isolated HBoV was analyzed by sequencing of VP1/VP2 gene. All of the HBoV isolates were identified as HBoV type 1 with a high similarity among the isolates (>97%). No bacterial pathogen was identified in indoor air samples. Although virus concentration was not high in public facilities (daycare center), the presence of respiratory viral pathogens has been identified. Effective ventilation and air purification strategies are needed to reduce the indoor concentration of respiratory pathogens. A long-term and ongoing surveillance plan for respiratory pathogen management should be established.

Keywords: Airborne respiratory pathogen, Respiratory viruses, Daycare center

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Seasonal virus detection results by sampling facilities

Figure 2

Phylogenetic analysis of human bocavirus based on the VP1/VP2 gene. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method, Maximum likelihood model with 1,000 bootstrap replicates, by MEGA 4. Only bootstrap values with ≥70% significance are shown. Black dots were sequences generated from the present study.

Table 1

List of primers used for amplification and sequencing of VP1/VP2 gene

Table 2

Detection status of respiratory pathogens

HAdV: human adenovirus, HBoV: human bocavirus, HPIV: human parainfluenza virus, HRSV: human respiratory syncytial virus, IFV: influenza virus, HCoV: human coronavirus, HRV: human rhinovirus, HMPV: human metapneumovirus, Mp: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Cp: Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Bp: Bordetella pertussis

Table 3

Sampling facilities for this study

Table 4

The CT value and DNA copy numbers of HBoV positive samples

Notes

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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