CAREER: Bioaerosols and Enteric Pathogen Risk in Cities with Poor Sanitation

PI姓名：Joe Brown提案编号：1653226许多城市，特别是发展中国家的城市，卫生基础设施较差，其特点是存在一些相互关联的问题，包括无节制的废水流动、缺乏功能性污水处理网络、开放式下水道、排水不良、城市水道高度污染、废水处理不当以及生物固体的不安全处置。卫生条件差的城市居民通过多种途径暴露于一系列病原体，导致疾病负担加重。在这些环境中尚未充分表征的一种途径是空气微生物（AMB）途径：病原体在气溶胶中的运输，其中不含粪便的粪便存在于人口中心附近。在这个项目中，PI的目的是促进我们对生物气溶胶在这些环境中传播病原体的作用的理解。研究结果将适用于美国和其他发达国家的许多环境，这些环境包括集约化畜牧业，废水基础设施和生物固体管理等领域。实地研究将与创新，动手，本科工程课程，重点是环境问题，影响全球公共卫生服务不足的community.The PI旨在确定生物气溶胶是否代表一个源的持续暴露于肠道病原体在城市卫生条件差。 一系列研究的目的是确定：（一）通过依赖培养和不依赖培养的方法，在发展中国家三个城市的空气样本中，代表不同季节和多年的一系列条件，确定重要的人类肠道病原体的流行率、浓度和潜在生存能力; ㈡含有肠道病原体的气溶胶的颗粒大小和来源分析，以建立传播和接触模型;（iii）可能与这些病原体的存在、浓度和生存能力相关的环境和建筑环境变量，包括季节、温度和相对湿度、降雨事件、局部人口密度以及与未包含的粪便废物的接近程度;以及（iv）通过定量微生物风险评估（QMRA），与通过AMB途径潜在暴露于病原体相关的感染风险。这项工作将扩大我们对肠道病原体如何在这些高度污染的环境中释放，传播和控制的理解，在工程和全球公共卫生的交叉点创造新的知识。

PI Name: Joe BrownProposal Number: 1653226Many cities, especially in developing countries, have poor sanitation infrastructure characterized by a number of interconnected problems, including uncontained wastewater flows, lack of functional sewerage networks, open sewers, poor drainage, highly contaminated urban waterways, inadequate treatment of wastewater, and unsafe disposal of biosolids. Residents of cities with poor sanitation are exposed to a range of pathogens via a number of pathways, contributing to a high burden of disease. One pathway that has not yet been adequately characterized in these settings is the aeromicrobiological (AMB) pathway: the transport of pathogens in aerosols where uncontained fecal waste exists in close proximity to population centers. In this project the PI aims to advance our understanding of the role bioaerosols play in transmission of pathogens in these environments. Findings will be applicable to many settings in the US and other developed countries as well; these settings include areas of intensive animal agriculture, wastewater infrastructure, and biosolids management. Field studies will be integrated with innovative, hands-on, undergraduate engineering courses focused on environmental problems affecting global public health in underserved communities.The PI seeks to determine whether bioaerosols represent a source of persistent exposure to enteric pathogens in cities with poor sanitation. The objectives of a series of studies are to determine: (i) the prevalence, concentration, and potential viability of important human enteric pathogens in air samples from three cities in the developing world representing a range of conditions, across seasons and multiple years, via culture-dependent and culture-independent methods; (ii) particle size and source apportionment of aerosols containing enteric pathogens to develop models for transport and exposure; (iii) environmental and built environment variables that may be associated with the presence, concentration, and viability of these pathogens, including season, temperature and relative humidity, rainfall events, localized population density, and proximity to uncontained fecal wastes; and (iv) infection risks associated with potential exposures to pathogens through the AMB pathway, via quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). This work will expand our understanding of how enteric pathogens are released, transmitted, and controlled in these highly contaminated settings, creating new knowledge at the intersection of engineering and global public health.