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Hot, humid air decontamination of a C‐130 aircraft contaminated with spores of two acrystalliferous Bacillus thuringiensis strains, surrogates for Bacillus anthracis
Author(s) -
Buhr T.L.,
Young A.A.,
Bensman M.,
Minter Z.A.,
Kennihan N.L.,
Johnson C.A.,
Bohmke M.D.,
BorgersKlonkowski E.,
Osborn E.B.,
Avila S.D.,
Theys A.M.G.,
Jackson P.J.
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.13055
Subject(s) - spore , bacillus thuringiensis , human decontamination , relative humidity , bacillus anthracis , endospore , contamination , biology , aerosolization , microbiology and biotechnology , veterinary medicine , food science , waste management , bacteria , medicine , meteorology , ecology , genetics , physics , anatomy , inhalation , engineering
Aim To develop test methods and evaluate survival of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki cry − HD ‐1 and B. thuringiensis Al Hakam spores after exposure to hot, humid air inside of a C‐130 aircraft. Methods and Results Bacillus thuringiensis spores were either pre‐inoculated on 1 × 2 or 2 × 2 cm substrates or aerosolized inside the cargo hold of a C‐130 and allowed to dry. Dirty, complex surfaces (10 × 10 cm) swabbed after spore dispersal showed a deposition of 8–10 log 10 m −2 through the entire cargo hold. After hot, humid air decontamination at 75–80°C, 70–90% relative humidity for 7 days, 87 of 98 test swabs covering 0·98 m 2 , showed complete spore inactivation. There was a total of 1·67 log 10 live CFU detected in 11 of the test swabs. Spore inactivation in the 98 test swabs was measured at 7·06 log 10 m −2 . Conclusions Laboratory test methods for hot, humid air decontamination were scaled for a large‐scale aircraft field test. The C‐130 field test demonstrated that hot, humid air can be successfully used to decontaminate an aircraft. Significance and Impact of the Study Transition of a new technology from research and development to acquisition at a Technology Readiness Level 7 is unprecedented.