title: Viability of human adenovirus from hospital fomites.
abstract: The monitoring of environmental microbial contamination in healthcare facilities may be a valuable tool to determine pathogens transmission in those settings; however, such procedure is limited to bacterial indicators. Viruses are found commonly in those environments and are rarely used for these procedures. The aim of this study was to assess distribution and viability of a human DNA virus on fomites in an Adult Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Human adenoviruses (HAdV) were investigated in 141 fomites by scraping the surface area and screening by quantitative PCR (qPCR) using TaqMan® System (Carlsbad, CA). Ten positive samples were selected for virus isolation in A549 and/or HEp2c cell lines. A total of 63 samples (44.7%) were positive and presented viral load ranging from 2.48 × 10(1) to 2.1 × 10(3) genomic copies per millilitre (gc/ml). The viability was demonstrated by integrated cell culture/nested-PCR in 5 out of 10 samples. Nucleotide sequencing confirmed all samples as HAdV and characterized one of them as specie B, serotype 3 (HAdV-3). The results indicate the risk of nosocomial transmission via contaminated fomites and point out the use of HAdV as biomarkers of environmental contamination.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Comparative and Environmental Virology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ganime
authors.forename: Filipe A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Carvalho-Costa
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Rubens
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costa Filho
authors.forename: José Paulo G
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Marize P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Miagostovich
mesh_terms: D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002460:Cell Line; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000821:virology; D050456:Fomites / Q000821:virology*; D005838:Genotype; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D050296:Microbial Viability; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D065288:Serogroup; D019562:Viral Load; D014776:Virus Cultivation
keywords: adenovirus; biomarker; fomites; hospital; viability