Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Hygiene logoLink to The Journal of Hygiene
. 1974 Aug;73(1):1–8. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400023767

Air sampling of smallpox virus

G Thomas
PMCID: PMC2130554  PMID: 4371586

Abstract

Airborne smallpox virus has been recovered in an isolation hospital using an adhesive surface sampling technique in the presence of very low aerosol concentrations. Previous work in this field is reviewed. Successful recovery of airborne virus depends on sampling large volumes of air with a suitable sampler and thorough investigation of the whole sample taken for the presence of viable virus. More information on the characteristics and behaviour of airborne smallpox virus is needed in particular with regard to the future design and siting of smallpox isolation units.

Full text

PDF
3

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. ANDERSEN A. A. New sampler for the collection, sizing, and enumeration of viable airborne particles. J Bacteriol. 1958 Nov;76(5):471–484. doi: 10.1128/jb.76.5.471-484.1958. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. APPLEYARD G., WESTWOOD J. C. THE GROWTH OF RABBITPOX VIRUS IN TISSUE CULTURE. J Gen Microbiol. 1964 Dec;37:391–401. doi: 10.1099/00221287-37-3-391. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CRAMB R. Smallpox outbreak in Brighton, 1950-51. Public Health. 1951 Apr;64(7):123–128. doi: 10.1016/s0033-3506(50)80114-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DOWNIE A. W., ST VINCENT L., MEIKLEJOHN G., RATNAKANNAN N. R., RAO A. R., KRISHNAN G. N., KEMPE C. H. Studies on the virus content of mouth washings in the acute phase of smallpox. Bull World Health Organ. 1961;25:49–53. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Henderson D. A. Eradication of smallpox: the critical year ahead. Proc R Soc Med. 1973 Jun;66(6):493–500. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. LOVELOCK J. E., PORTERFIELD J. S., RODEN A. T., SOMMERVILLE T., ANDREWES C. H. Further studies on the natural transmission of the common cold. Lancet. 1952 Oct 4;2(6736):657–660. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(52)91502-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. MAY K. R., HARPER G. J. The efficiency of various liquid impinger samplers in bacterial aerosols. Br J Ind Med. 1957 Oct;14(4):287–297. doi: 10.1136/oem.14.4.287. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. MEIKLEJOHN G., KEMPE C. H., DOWNIE A. W., BERGE T. O., ST VINCENT L., RAO A. R. Air sampling to recover variola virus in the environment of a smallpox hospital. Bull World Health Organ. 1961;25:63–67. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. PEIRCE E. R., MELVILLE F. S., DOWNIE A. W., DUCKWORTH M. J. Anti-vaccinial gamma-globulin in smallpox prophylaxis. Lancet. 1958 Sep 20;2(7047):635–638. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(58)90351-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PERKINS W. A., VAUGHAN L. M. Public health implications of airborne infection: physical aspects. Bacteriol Rev. 1961 Sep;25:347–355. doi: 10.1128/br.25.3.347-355.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. PIRSCH J. B., PURLSON E. H. A tissue culture assay for variola virus based upon the enumeration of hyperplastic foci. J Immunol. 1962 Nov;89:632–637. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. TYLER M. E., SHIPE E. L. Bacterial aerosol samplers. I. Development and evaluation of the all-glass impinger. Appl Microbiol. 1959 Nov;7:337–349. doi: 10.1128/am.7.6.337-349.1959. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Thomas G. An adhesive surface sampling technique for airborne viruses. J Hyg (Lond) 1970 Jun;68(2):273–282. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400028734. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Thomas G. Samplig rabbit pox aerosols of natural origin. J Hyg (Lond) 1970 Dec;68(4):511–517. doi: 10.1017/s0022172400042443. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Westwood J. C., Boulter E. A., Bowen E. T., Maber H. B. Experimental respiratory infection with poxviruses. I. Clinical virological and epidemiological studies. Br J Exp Pathol. 1966 Oct;47(5):453–465. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Hygiene are provided here courtesy of Cambridge University Press

RESOURCES