1. Institutional outbreaks of rotavirus diarrhoea: potential role of fomites and environmental surfaces as vehicles for virus transmission
- Author
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N Lloyd-Evans, V S Springthorpe, Syed A. Sattar, and Rama C. Nair
- Subjects
Diarrhea ,Paper ,Canada ,Veterinary medicine ,Surface Properties ,Virus transmission ,Immunology ,Reoviridae ,Rotavirus Infections ,medicine.disease_cause ,Cell Line ,Clothing ,Disease Outbreaks ,law.invention ,Feces ,law ,Rotavirus ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Relative humidity ,Cross Infection ,biology ,Temperature ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Outbreak ,Humidity ,biology.organism_classification ,Macaca mulatta ,Virology ,Transmission (mechanics) ,Steel ,medicine.symptom ,Research Article - Abstract
SUMMARYTo assess the potential of fomites and environmental surfaces as vehicles in the transmission of rotaviral diarrhoea, disks (1 cm diameter) of various porous and non-porous materials were contaminated with about 105plaque-forming units of the Wa strain of human rotavirus (HRV) suspended in faecal matter. The contaminated disks were then held for 10 days at either room temperature (22±2 °C) or 4°C with the relative humidity (RH) at the high (85±5%), medium (50±5%) or low (25±5%) level. Survival was longer on non-porous surfaces at the lower temperature and at lower humidity. In contrast, survival on porous surfaces was very variable; better on cotton-polyester than on poster card or paper currency on which HRV survived very poorly. These results suggest that under the right environmental conditions, HRV-contaminated objects could play a role in the transmission of rotavirus infections in hospitals, nursing homes and day-care centres.
- Published
- 1986
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