A model of the transmission of micro-organisms in a public setting and its correlation to pathogen infection risks
A model of the transmission of micro-organisms in a public setting and its correlation to pathogen infection risks
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1365-2672.2012.05234.x
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发表时间：
2012-03-01
影响因子：
4
通讯作者：
Hoefer, D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gerhardts, A.;Hammer, T. R.;Hoefer, D.
目的：胃肠道感染在社区中广泛存在，具有相当大的经济后果。在这项研究中，我们跟踪了从公共厕所场景中的感染链，通过将细菌、真菌和病毒的传播与我们目前对感染剂量的了解相关联来观察感染风险。方法和结果：在一个传播模型中，即马桶刷子、门把手到水龙头，检测了大肠杆菌、阿托法芽胞杆菌、白色念珠菌和噬菌体MS2从手到表面的传播。在从手转移到物体的过程中，活病原体的负载显著减少。然而，研究表明，病原体通过接触受污染的表面以传染性剂量成功地传播给他人。结论：我们的结果表明，感染风险主要取决于当前病原体的感染剂量。至于肠道病毒或细菌，例如诺沃克病毒或肠出血性大肠杆菌，在公厕内只有极少数粒子或细胞足以感染，因此其他人感染的风险很高。然而，感染高感染剂量的病原体的可能性似乎很低，同时共用一个卫生间。这项研究的意义和影响：微生物的传播模型使在实用方法的基础上进行胃肠道感染的风险评估成为可能。
Aim: Gastro-intestinal infections are widespread in the community and have considerable economic consequences. In this study, we followed chains of infection from a public toilet scenario, looking at infection risks by correlating the transmission of bacteria, fungi and viruses to our current knowledge of infectious doses.Methods and Results: Transmission of Escherichia coli, Bacillus atrophaeus spores, Candida albicans and bacteriophage MS2 from hands to surfaces was examined in a transmission model, that is toilet brush, door handle to water tap. The load of viable pathogens was significantly reduced during transfer from hands to objects. Nevertheless, it was shown that pathogens were successfully transferred to other people in contagious doses by contact with contaminated surfaces.Conclusions: Our results suggest that infection risks are mainly dependent on current infectious doses of pathogens. For enteritic viruses or bacteria, for example Norovirus or EHEC, only a few particles or cells are sufficient for infection in public lavatories, thus bearing a high risk of infection for other persons. However, there seems to be only a low probability of becoming infected with pathogens that have a high infectious dose whilst sharing the same bathroom.Significance and Impact of the Study: The transmission model for microorganisms enables a risk assessment of gastro-intestinal infections on the basis of a practical approach.