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Whole‐building decontamination of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores by methyl bromide fumigation
Author(s) -
Serre S.,
Mickelsen L.,
Calfee M.W.,
Wood J.P.,
Gray M.S.,
Scheffrahn R.H.,
Perez R.,
Kern W.H.,
Daniell N.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.12974
Subject(s) - fumigation , bacillus anthracis , spore , human decontamination , bromide , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , horticulture , biology , waste management , bacteria , organic chemistry , genetics , engineering
Aims To evaluate the field inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores with methyl bromide ( MB ) using commercial fumigation techniques. Methods and Results Eighty‐seven wood and 87 glass coupons each containing ca. 1 × 10 6 B. anthracis Sterne spores, were placed in 22 locations inside a 1444 m 3 conference building. Four additional 12‐coupon sets (six wood, six glass) were removed from the building at 16, 24, 32 and 40 h during fumigation. The building was sealed under two tarpaulins and fumigated with MB at ≥225 g m −3 mean concentration for 48 h at 28°C and 83% RH . All B. anthracis spores fumigated for more than 16 h were inactivated. A single wood coupon from the 16‐h set yielded ca. 2 × 10 3 CFU. No damage to the building or its contents was observed. Conclusions MB fumigation is a rapid, economical and effective whole‐structure decontamination method for B. anthracis spores. Significance and Impact of the Study MB fumigation offers a method of whole‐structure B. anthracis decontamination without removal of materials, damage to sensitive electronics, costly indoor retrofitting.