Article
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Air Sampling for Early Pathogen Detection
Version 1
: Received: 17 December 2023 / Approved: 19 December 2023 / Online: 19 December 2023 (13:51:07 CET)
How to cite: Justen, L.; Bradshaw, W. Air Sampling for Early Pathogen Detection. Preprints 2023, 2023121462. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1462.v1 Justen, L.; Bradshaw, W. Air Sampling for Early Pathogen Detection. Preprints 2023, 2023121462. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202312.1462.v1
Abstract
This article examines air sampling as an environmental surveillance strategy for early pathogen detection and offers a preliminary comparison of air and wastewater surveillance. Air sampling involves collecting bioaerosols to analyze the microbial composition of the air, utilizing techniques like PCR and metagenomic sequencing. Air sampling appears especially promising for detecting respiratory pathogens and highly transmissible pandemic agents, as these spread primarily via aerosols and droplets. The article details various air sampling techniques, their efficiency, and practical considerations, categorizing them into filtration, impaction, impingement, electrostatic precipitation, and condensation methods. It also explores the composition of airborne microbes, emphasizing the low concentration of viral nucleic acids and the challenges this poses for metagenomic sequencing. The selection of sampling locations, including indoor environments and airplanes, is discussed as critical for effective pathogen detection. Finally, the article contrasts air and wastewater sampling, concluding that while both methods should ideally be explored as layered defenses, air sampling does not collectively appear more promising than wastewater sampling.
Keywords
air sampling; biosurveillance; metagenomic sequencing; pandemic preparedness
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Biology and Biotechnology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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