Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Designing and Testing of a System for Aerosolization and Recovery of Viable Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV): Theoretical and Engineering Considerations

Version 1 : Received: 10 February 2021 / Approved: 10 February 2021 / Online: 10 February 2021 (11:41:43 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Li P, Koziel JA, Zimmerman JJ, Hoff SJ, Zhang J, Cheng T-Y, Yim-Im W, Lee M, Chen B, Jenks WS. (2021). Designing and Testing of a System for Aerosolization and Recovery of Viable Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV): Theoretical and Engineering Considerations. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 9:659609. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.659609 Li P, Koziel JA, Zimmerman JJ, Hoff SJ, Zhang J, Cheng T-Y, Yim-Im W, Lee M, Chen B, Jenks WS. (2021). Designing and Testing of a System for Aerosolization and Recovery of Viable Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV): Theoretical and Engineering Considerations. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 9:659609. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.659609

Abstract

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infections cause significant economic losses to swine producers every year. Aerosols containing infectious PRRSV are an important route of transmission, and proper treatment of air could mitigate the airborne spread of the virus within and between barns. Previous bioaerosol studies focused on the microbiology of PRRSV aerosols; thus, the current study addressed the engineering aspects of virus aerosolization and collection. Specific objectives were to (1) build and test a virus aerosolization system, (2) achieve a uniform and repeatable aerosol generation and collection throughout all replicates, (3) identify and minimize sources of variation, (4) verify that the collection system (impingers) performed similarly. The system for virus aerosolization was built and tested (Obj. 1). The uniform airflow distribution was confirmed using a physical tracer (<12% relative standard deviation) for all treatments and sound engineering control of flow rates (Obj. 2). Theoretical uncertainty analyses and mass balance calculations showed <3% loss of air mass flow rate between the inlet and outlet (Obj. 3). A comparison of TCID50 values among impinger fluids showed no statistical difference between any two of the three trials (p-value = 0.148, 0.357, 0.846) (Obj. 4). These results showed that the readiness of the system for research on virus aerosolization and treatment (e.g., by ultraviolet light), as well as its potential use for research on other types of airborne pathogens and their mitigation on a laboratory scale.

Keywords

airborne pathogens; animal production; infectious animal disease; livestock health; mass balance; swine diseases; viral aerosol; virus isolation

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Virology

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 22 March 2021
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The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment: The abstract of the accepted peer-reviewed version of this article is posted:
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