Abstract
The objective of this experiment was to describe the stability of airborne infectious porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) as a function of temperature and relative humidity. A cloud of infectious PRRSV was aerosolized using 24-jet Collison nebulizer into a dynamic aerosol toroid (DAT) maintained at a specific temperature and relative humidity. The PRRSV cloud within the DAT was sampled repeatedly over time using SKC BioSampler® impingers and the total viral RNA (RT-PCR) and concentration of infectious PRRSV (TCID50) in the air samples was determined. As measured by quantitative RT-PCR, PRRSV RNA was stable under the conditions evaluated in this study. Thus, a comparison of viral RNA and Rhodamine B dye, a physical tracer, found no significant difference in the slopes of the lines. Titers of infectious virus were plotted by time and the half-life (T1/2) of infectious PRRSV was calculated using linear regression analysis. An analysis of the results showed that aerosolized PRRSV was more stable at lower temperatures and/or lower relative humidity, but temperature had a greater effect on the T1/2 of PRRSV than relative humidity. Based on these results, an equation was derived to predict the T1/2 of infectious airborne PRRSV for any combination of environmental temperature and relative humidity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 81-93 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Veterinary research |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2007 |
Keywords
- Aerosol
- PRRSV
- Relative humidity
- Temperature
- Virus stability