Cracking the Travel Patterns of Viruses

In the virus community, it is well understood that planes, trains, and high traffic areas hold huge potential for helping an infectious viral agent spread to new regions. To prevent this during an outbreak, people are told not to travel if they are infected or suspect they might be. But it’s impossible to guarantee that people will follow this rule and its impossible to know if they have spread the disease to other people on those transportation lines and in those high traffic areas.

But it may not be impossible for much longer. Researcher have developed a bioaerosol sampling tool that tests airborne particle to detect viruses quickly and inform outbreak prevention efforts. They have already tested these tools in high traffic areas, such as the Raleigh Durham International Airport, and collected 72 samples that contained viruses such as Influenza D and adenovirus. By using this tool, researchers and public health field workers will be able to find out what infectious pathogens are at risk of travelling and be able to set up the appropriate prevention methods.

The benefits of this bioaerosol sampling technique is that it is portable and non-invasive, no one will have to get their blood drawn and tested for viruses at the airport. This technique also provides quick results, allowing for efficient outbreak control to occur. However, before we truly see it in action, researchers need to find the optimal sampling parameters for various respiratory viruses to make the tool more specific. With many of the world’s dangerous pathogens being airborne, this technique could be pivotal in preventing future pandemics from viruses such as influenza. So keep your eye out for bioaerosol tools in your local airport or train station. We’ll hopefully see them soon.

-Mailo Numazu

Source:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-02-planes-viruses-transit-air-outbreak.html