Environmental Monitoring for Gastroenteric Viruses in a Pediatric Primary Immunodeficiency Unit

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if gastroenteric viruses were present on surfaces and equipment in a pediatric primary immunodeficiency unit (PPIU) by environmental sampling using swabs and subsequent nucleic acid extraction and reverse transcriptase PCR assays. A PPIU was chosen, and 11 swabs were taken at the same sites every 2 weeks for 6 months. Nested/heminested PCR assays were used to screen for astroviruses (AsV), noroviruses (NoV), and rotaviruses (RV). AsV, NoV, and RV were detected at multiple swab sites during the study period. NoV was the most frequently detected virus on environmental surfaces; however, RV was detected on 79% and NoV on 50% of swabbing dates during the study period. Toilet taps were the most contaminated sites. Fecal samples from selected patients in the unit were also screened during the study period, and patients excreted AsV, NoV, and RV at times during the study. New cleaning schedules and changes in some of the PPIU sanitary furniture have been suggested as a means of reducing environmental contamination.

Contamination of the Hospital Environment with Gastroenteric Viruses: Comparison of Two Pediatric Wards over a Winter Season

“…When these three subtypes were compared to outbreak strains cocirculating in the United Kingdom, only one strain found on swabs JN3, JN5, JN6, JN10, JN11, and KN17 was seen commonly in outbreaks throughout the United Kingdom. Comparisons between ward 23, the PPIU, from the previous published study (4) It was noted in this study that ward 23 had a peak of environmental contamination from 27 January 2006 to 17 February 2006, with 41% of swabbing samples positive for one of the three enteric viruses; 90% of the ward 23 positive results were within this period. During the same period, ward 24 also had its peak of enteric virus environmental contamination, with 36% of swabs positive; however, only 70% of all the positive swabs were detected during this time.…”

“…Genotyping for group A RV was not performed. PCR machine conditions were as previously stated (4). Standard control measures and unidirectional work flow were used for all nested PCRs with the second-round PCR setup per-formed in a PCR workstation with UV decontamination (4).…”

Etiological Role of Viruses in Outbreaks of Acute Gastroenteritis in The Netherlands from 1994 through 2005

“…Other viruses that are clearly associated with diarrhea and vomiting are group A rotaviruses (RV), astroviruses (AsV), and enteric adenoviruses (AdV) (1,7,14). These viruses affect mostly children in the first few years of life and have been described as common causes of GE in countries with great differences in the levels of hygiene and the qualities of water, food, or sanitation (15).…”

An Exploratory Study of Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolates from Environment and Patient Blood Cultures from an Intensive Care Unit

“…The extent to which such susceptible patients' environments act as a reservoir for infections is contradictory with some authors [3,8,10,16] suggesting that transmission of HCAIs by this route is plausible. Some studies described that the contribution of the environment is negligible [7,9,12,14,18].…”