In many outbreaks caused by viruses, the transmission of the agents can occur through contaminated environmental surfaces. Because of the increasing incidence of viral infections, there is a need to evaluate novel engineering control methods for inactivation of viruses on surfaces. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is considered a promising method to inactivate viruses. This study evaluated UVGI effectiveness for viruses on the surface of gelatin-based medium in a UV exposure chamber. The effects of UV dose, viral nucleic acid type (single-stranded RNA, ssRNA; single-stranded DNA, ssDNA; double-stranded RNA, dsRNA; and double-stranded DNA, dsDNA), and relative humidity on the virus survival fraction were investigated. For 90% viral reduction, the UV dose was 1.32 to 3.20 mJ/cm2 for ssRNA, 2.50 to to 4.47 mJ/cm2 for ssDNA, 3.80 to 5.36 mJ/cm2 for dsRNA, and 7.70 to 8.13 mJ/cm2 for dsDNA. For all four tested viruses, the UV dose for 99% viral reduction was 2 times higher than those for 90% viral reduction. Viruses on a surface with single-stranded nucleic acid (ssRNA and ssDNA) were more susceptible to UV inactivation than viruses with double-stranded nucleic acid (dsRNA and dsDNA). For the same viral reduction, the UV dose at 85% relative humidity (RH) was higher than that at 55% RH. In summary, results showed that UVGI was an effective method for inactivation of viruses on surfaces.

Collection efficiencies of four bioaerosol samplers (Andersen impactor, AGI-30 impinger, gelatin filter, and nuclepore filter) were evaluated for virus-containing aerosols. Four different bacteriophages were used as surrogates for the mammalian viruses. Results showed that the collection efficiency was significantly affected by the morphology of the virus particles. For hydrophilic viruses, the collection efficiencies of the Andersen impactor, impinger, and gelatin filter were 10 times higher than that of the nuclepore filter. For hydrophilic viruses, the collection efficiencies of all four samplers were 10-100 times higher than hydrophobic viruses. The infectivity of the virus in collected samples was also evaluated for an AGI-30 impinger. Results showed that the viruses retained more infectivity when the samples were refrigerated (up to 1 day) during storage than when stored at room temperature (up to 8 h). Therefore, even when refrigerated, airborne virus samples collected using an impinger should be processed as soon as possible to avoid loss of virus infectivity. ᭧

The increasing incidence of infectious diseases has prompted the application of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) for the inactivation of viruses. This study evaluates UVGI effectiveness for airborne viruses in a laboratory test chamber by determining the effect of UV dosage, different nucleic acid type of virus (single-stranded RNA, ssRNA; single-stranded DNA, ssDNA; double-stranded RNA, dsRNA; and double-stranded DNA, ds-DNA), and relative humidity on virus survival fraction after UVGI exposure.For airborne viruses, the UVGI dose for 90% inactivation was 339-423 µW sec/cm 2 for ssRNA, 444-494 µW sec/cm 2 for ssDNA, 662-863 µW sec/cm 2 for dsRNA, and 910-1196 µW sec/cm 2 for ds-DNA. For all four tested, the UVGI dose for 99% inactivation was 2 times higher than that for 90% inactivation. Airborne viruses with single-stranded nucleic acid (ssRNA and ssDNA) were more susceptible to UV inactivation than were those with double-stranded ones (dsRNA and dsDNA). For all tested viruses at the same inactivation, the UVGI dose at 85% RH was higher than that at 55% RH, possibly because water sorption onto a virus surface provides protection against UV-induced DNA or RNA damage at higher RH. In summary, UVGI was an effective method for inactivation of airborne virus.

Because of increasing incidence of virus-containing aerosols, ozone was potentially considered to be a promising method to inactivate airborne viruses. In this investigation, bacteriophages MS2, phi X174, phi 6, and T7 are under evaluation. The effects of ozone concentration, contact time, different capsid architecture of virus and relative humidity (RH) on inactivating airborne viruses by ozone were evaluated in a laboratory test chamber. It was observed that the survival fraction of airborne virus decreased exponentially with increasing ozone dose. Airborne viruses required ozone doses of 0.34 to 1.98 and 0.80 to 4.19 min-mg/m 3 for 90% and 99% inactivation, respectively. For all four tested, the ozone dose for 99% inactivation was 2 times higher than that for 90% inactivation. At airborne phase with a short contact time, viruses with more complex capsid architectures were observed to be less susceptible to ozone inactivation than those with simple ones. For all tested viruses at the same inactivation, the required ozone concentration at 85% RH was lower than that at 55% RH, possibly because the generation of more radicals from ozone reacting with water vapor at the higher RH. In summary, it was concluded that ozone is highly effective for the inactivation of airborne virus.

Dry eye disease (DED) has become a common eye disease in recent years and appears to be influenced by environmental factors. This study aimed to examine the association between the first occurrence of DED, air pollution and weather changes in Taiwan. We used the systematic sampling cohort database containing 1,000,000 insureds of the National Health Insurance of Taiwan from 2004 to 2013, and identified a total of 25,818 eligible DED subjects. Environmental data, including those of air pollutants, temperature and relative humidity, were retrieved from the environmental monitoring stations adjacent to subjects’ locations of clinics as exposure information. We applied the case-crossover design, which used the same subjects experiencing exposures on diagnosis days as cases and those on other days as controls. The descriptive statistics showed that the first occurrences of DED were the most for the elderly by age (53.6%), women by gender (68.9%), and spring by season (25.9%). Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses indicated that carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and temperature were positively associated with DED (p < 0.05), while relative humidity was negatively related (p < 0.001). Because CO and NO2 together are considered a surrogate of traffic emission, which is easier to control than the uprising temperature, it is suggested that efficient management and control of traffic emission may lower the probability of DED occurrence.