Environmental Effects on Viable Virus Transport in Ventilation Airflow at High Risk Facilities

环境对高风险设施通风气流中活病毒传播的影响

• 批准号: 2034048
• 负责人: Maria King
• 金额: $ 32.93万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-12-01 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2034048&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Environmental; Effects; Viable; Virus; Transport

Meat processing plants have become hotbeds for the transmission of COVID-19 in the United States. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in meat processing facilities provide a means of transporting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In addition, these ventilation systems facilitate the deposition of virus particles onto surfaces where they can survive and remain infectious for days. Despite a recent flurry of investigations, the spread of COVID-19 via aerosol dispersion and inhalation in processing plants remains poorly understood. The goals of this research are to advance our fundamental understanding of the spread of viruses-laden aerosols in processing plants and use this knowledge to mitigate the transmission and spread of SARS-CoV-2. To achieve this goal, researchers will use bovine corona virus, a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2, to: i) investigate virus aerosolization, transport, and deposition inside a model test chamber designed to simulate conditions in the meat processing plant; and ii) perform computational modeling of virus particle transport to predict behavior in the ventilation system. Successful completion of this project will benefit society through the development of new knowledge to understand and mitigate the transmission and spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in meat processing plants, thus protecting a vital part of the Nation’s food supply. Further benefits to society will be achieved through student education, training, and public outreach including the recruitment and mentoring of students from underrepresented groups, and training for teachers, industrial and medical collaborators, and other stakeholders.Meat processing plants have been especially hard hit by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Although we know that conditions in these plants including low temperature, high humidity, and high airflow rate can facilitate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, the relative importance of these environmental factors on virus transmission and infectivity in meat processing plants remain poorly understood. The overarching goal of this project is to advance our fundamental understanding of virus aerosolization, transport, dispersion, and infectivity in meat processing plants. To achieve this goal, researchers will carry out an integrated experimental and computational modeling research program using bovine corona virus (BCoV) as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Experiments will be conducted in a temperature- and humidity-controlled BSL-2 chamber equipped to track the size and distribution of virus aerosols using particle tracking velocimetry. During the experiments, the surfaces inside the test chamber will be sampled at regular time intervals to quantify the number and viability of BCoV particles using cell culture techniques and quantitative PCR. Researchers will utilize ANSYS Fluent software to model the airflow pattern in the test chamber to determine the effect of ventilation on the entrainment and spread of BCoV aerosols. Finally, researchers will conduct field tests at two large beef processing pants to validate and apply the project findings. Successful completion of this project has potential for transformative impact through the development of new knowledge and tools to predict and mitigate the transport, dispersion, and infectivity of viruses in meat processing plants.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

肉类加工厂已成为美国 COVID-19 传播的温床。肉类加工设施中的供暖、通风和空调系统提供了传播 SARS-CoV-2（引起 COVID-19 的病毒）的途径。此外，这些通风系统有利于病毒颗粒沉积在表面上，病毒颗粒可以在表面上存活并保持传染性数天。尽管最近进行了一系列调查，但人们对加工厂中通过气溶胶扩散和吸入传播 COVID-19 的情况仍知之甚少。这项研究的目标是增进我们对加工厂中载有病毒的气溶胶传播的基本了解，并利用这些知识来减轻 SARS-CoV-2 的传播和扩散。为了实现这一目标，研究人员将使用牛冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2 的替代品）来： i) 研究模拟肉类加工厂条件的模型测试室内的病毒雾化、运输和沉积； ii) 对病毒颗粒传输进行计算建模，以预测通风系统中的行为。该项目的成功完成将通过开发新知识来了解和减轻肉类加工厂中 SARS-CoV-2 病毒颗粒的传播和传播，从而造福社会，从而保护国家食品供应的重要组成部分。通过学生教育、培训和公共宣传，包括招募和指导来自代表性不足群体的学生，以及对教师、工业和医疗合作者以及其他利益相关者进行培训，将给社会带来进一步的好处。肉类加工厂受到当前 COVID-19 大流行的打击尤其严重。尽管我们知道这些工厂的低温、高湿度和高气流等条件可以促进 SARS-CoV-2 病毒颗粒的传播，但这些环境因素对肉类加工厂病毒传播和感染性的相对重要性仍知之甚少。该项目的总体目标是增进我们对肉类加工厂中病毒雾化、传播、传播和感染性的基本了解。为了实现这一目标，研究人员将使用牛冠状病毒（BCoV）作为 SARS-CoV-2 的替代品，开展综合实验和计算建模研究计划。实验将在温度和湿度控制的 BSL-2 室中进行，该室配备粒子跟踪测速仪来跟踪病毒气溶胶的大小和分布。在实验过程中，将定期对测试室内的表面进行采样，以使用细胞培养技术和定量 PCR 来量化 BCoV 颗粒的数量和活力。研究人员将利用 ANSYS Fluent 软件对测试室中的气流模式进行建模，以确定通风对 BCoV 气溶胶夹带和传播的影响。最后，研究人员将在两个大型牛肉加工工厂进行现场测试，以验证和应用项目研究结果。该项目的成功完成有可能通过开发新的知识和工具来预测和减轻肉类加工厂中病毒的传播、传播和传染性，从而产生变革性的影响。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。