Role of Relative Humidity in the Survival of Airborne Mycoplasma pneumoniae
AUTOR(ES)
Wright, D. N.
RESUMO
Aerosols of Mycoplasma pneumoniae were studied at several relative humidities at a controlled temperature of 27 C. Production of an experimentally reproducible aerosol required preatomization of the organism in its suspending fluid and was dependent on the type of fluid used in atomization as well as on the procedures used to produce an aerosol. The airborne particles studied were within the range of epidemiological significance, with most being 2 μm or less in diameter. Survival of the airborne mycoplasma in these particles was found to be best at very low and at very high humidities. The most lethal relative humidity levels were at 60 and 80%, at which levels fewer than 1% of the organisms survived over a 4-hr observation period. However, survival of the organism at most relative humidity levels was such that long-term infectivity could be expected from aerosols of M. pneumoniae. Because of the extreme sensitivity of M. pneumoniae at critical humidity levels, control of the airborne transmission of these organisms may be possible in selected spaces.
ACESSO AO ARTIGO
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=252406Documentos Relacionados
- Survival of airborne Mycoplasma as affected by relative humidity.
- Response of Airborne Mycoplasma pneumoniae to Abrupt Changes in Relative Humidity
- Effect of Relative Humidity on the Survival of Airborne Unicellular Algae
- Influence of Relative Humidity on the Survival of Some Airborne Viruses
- Effect of relative humidity on the airborne survival of rotavirus SA11.