INvestigating Home water and Aerosols' Links to opportunistic pathogen Exposure (INHALE): do consumer decisions impact pathogen exposure and virulence?

调查家庭用水和气溶胶与机会性病原体暴露（吸入）的联系：消费者的决定是否会影响病原体暴露和毒力？

• 批准号: 2326096
• 负责人: Sarah Haig
• 金额: $ 42万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2326096&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: INvestigating; Home; water; Aerosols; Links

As people take showers, they are exposed to billions of bacterial cells through contact with the water and inhalation of produced aerosols. While many of these organisms are harmless, some drinking water-associated pathogens (DWPIs) are a leading cause of serious health risks, especially for individuals with weakened immune systems. Today, the showerhead market in the United States features a wide range of options which leave consumers to select the type of spray pattern, material, flow rate, and additives (e.g., bacterial killing chemicals) that they want to have in their shower systems. However, we have a limited fundamental understanding of how consumer choices of showerheads directly influence the presence and amounts of DWPIs in shower water and shower water produced aerosols. The overarching goal of this project is to address this knowledge gap. To advance this goal, the Principal Investigators (PIs) will test showerheads with different spray patterns, water flow rates, and additives in an experimental shower lab with the goal of measuring and comparing the concentrations of DWPIs present in shower water and shower water produced aerosols. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge that could enable consumers to select showerheads that prioritize their health while enhancing the fundamental understanding of the aerosolization of DWPIs in shower systems and the built environment. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of one graduate student and one undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. Pulmonary infections from drinking water-associated pathogens predominantly causing infections in immunocompromised individuals (DWPI) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Although there are many DWPIs, Legionella pneumophila, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are estimated to cost the United States economy $2.39 billion annually. Although DWPI exposure can occur through a variety of pathways, inhalation of water associated aerosols are most associated with infection. Aerosolization, a critical step in the transmission pathway of DWPIs, remains poorly understood. Specifically, little is known about how consumer showerhead choices (spray pattern, flow rate, and material additives) influence DWPI virulence and partitioning from the water to aerosol phase. The long-term goals of this study are to quantitively assess the DWPI exposure risk posed by aerosols produced by different showerhead setups and ascertain if different setups select for greater DWPI exposure and more virulent DWPIs. This goal will be achieved through two research objectives. Objective 1 will test a range of different showerhead setups in an experimental shower lab and quantify the abundance of live L. pneumophila, P. aeruginosa, and NTM in shower water and its associated aerosols using ddPCR and develop shower water to aerosol partitioning models for each DWPI and showerhead. Objective 2 will use a combination of genomic, kinetic, biofilm aggregation, and macrophage infectivity assays to investigate the role that showerhead setup has on organism fitness and virulence. The successful completion of this research has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of new data and fundamental knowledge including mechanistic models of exposure and risk to human health related to the presence of DWPIs in shower water and shower water produced aerosols. To implement the education and training goals of the project, the PIs propose to leverage existing programs at the University of Pittsburgh (U Pitt) Swanson School of Engineering such as the EXCEL program to recruit and mentor undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to work on the project. In addition, the PIs plan to integrate the project research findings into relevant undergraduate and graduate courses at U Pitt.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.

当人们淋浴时，他们通过接触水和吸入产生的气溶胶而暴露于数十亿个细菌细胞。虽然其中许多生物是无害的，但一些饮用水相关病原体（DWPI）是严重健康风险的主要原因，特别是对于免疫系统较弱的个体。如今，美国的淋浴头市场具有广泛的选择范围，这使得消费者可以选择喷射模式的类型、材料、流速和添加剂（例如，杀菌化学品），他们希望在他们的淋浴系统。然而，我们对消费者对喷头的选择如何直接影响淋浴水和淋浴水产生的气溶胶中DWPI的存在和数量的基本理解有限。该项目的首要目标是解决这一知识差距。为了推进这一目标，主要研究者（PI）将在实验淋浴实验室中测试具有不同喷雾模式、水流速和添加剂的喷头，目的是测量和比较淋浴水和淋浴水产生的气溶胶中DWPI的浓度。该项目的成功完成将通过产生新的数据和基础知识使社会受益，这些数据和基础知识可以使消费者选择优先考虑其健康的喷头，同时增强对淋浴系统和建筑环境中DWPI雾化的基本理解。通过学生教育和培训，包括指导匹兹堡大学的一名研究生和一名本科生，将为社会带来更多好处。来自饮用水相关病原体的肺部感染主要引起免疫功能低下个体（DWPI）的感染，是美国发病率和死亡率的主要原因。虽然有许多DWPI，但据估计，嗜肺军团菌、非结核分枝杆菌（NTM）和铜绿假单胞菌每年给美国经济造成23.9亿美元的损失。尽管DWPI暴露可通过多种途径发生，但吸入与水相关的气溶胶与感染最相关。雾化是DWPI传播途径中的一个关键步骤，目前仍知之甚少。具体而言，很少有人知道如何消费者喷头的选择（喷雾模式，流速和材料添加剂）影响DWPI毒力和分区从水到气溶胶相。本研究的长期目标是定量评估由不同淋浴头设置产生的气溶胶造成的DWPI暴露风险，并确定不同设置是否选择更大的DWPI暴露和更具毒性的DWPI。这一目标将通过两个研究目标来实现。目标1将在实验淋浴实验室中测试一系列不同的淋浴头设置，并量化活的L。使用ddPCR分析淋浴水及其相关气溶胶中的嗜肺假单胞菌、铜绿假单胞菌和NTM，并为每个DWPI和淋浴头开发淋浴水至气溶胶分配模型。目的2将使用基因组、动力学、生物膜聚集和巨噬细胞感染性测定的组合来研究莲蓬头设置对生物体适应性和毒力的作用。这项研究的成功完成有可能通过产生新的数据和基础知识产生变革性的影响，包括与淋浴水和淋浴水产生的气溶胶中存在DWPI有关的暴露和人类健康风险的机械模型。为了实现该项目的教育和培训目标，PI建议利用匹兹堡大学（U Pitt）斯旺森工程学院的现有计划，如EXCEL计划，从代表性不足的群体中招募和指导本科生从事该项目。此外，PI计划将项目研究成果整合到U Pitt的相关本科和研究生课程中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。