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Bin SY, Heo JY, Song MS, Lee J, Kim EH, Park SJ, Kwon HI, Kim SM, Kim YI, Si YJ, Lee IW, Baek YH, Choi WS, Min J, Jeong HW, Choi YK. Environmental Contamination and Viral Shedding in MERS Patients During MERS-CoV Outbreak in South Korea. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 62:755-60. [PMID: 26679623 PMCID: PMC7108026 DOI: 10.1093/cid/civ1020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background. Although Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is characterized by a risk of nosocomial transmission, the detailed mode of transmission and period of virus shedding from infected patients are poorly understood. The aims of this study were to investigate the potential role of environmental contamination by MERS-CoV in healthcare settings and to define the period of viable virus shedding from MERS patients. Methods. We investigated environmental contamination from 4 patients in MERS-CoV units of 2 hospitals. MERS-CoV was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and viable virus was isolated by cultures. Results. Many environmental surfaces of MERS patient rooms, including points frequently touched by patients or healthcare workers, were contaminated by MERS-CoV. Viral RNA was detected up to five days from environmental surfaces following the last positive PCR from patients’ respiratory specimens. MERS-CoV RNA was detected in samples from anterooms, medical devices, and air-ventilating equipment. In addition, MERS-CoV was isolated from environmental objects such as bed sheets, bedrails, IV fluid hangers, and X-ray devices. During the late clinical phase of MERS, viable virus could be isolated in 3 of the 4 enrolled patients on day 18 to day 25 after symptom onset. Conclusions. Most of touchable surfaces in MERS units were contaminated by patients and health care workers and the viable virus could shed through respiratory secretion from clinically fully recovered patients. These results emphasize the need for strict environmental surface hygiene practices, and sufficient isolation period based on laboratory results rather than solely on clinical symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seo Yu Bin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon
| | | | - Min-Suk Song
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and
| | - Jacob Lee
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon
| | - Eun-Ha Kim
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and
| | - Su-Jin Park
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeok-Il Kwon
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Se Mi Kim
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Il Kim
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Jae Si
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - In-Won Lee
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Yun Hee Baek
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and
| | - Won-Suk Choi
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and
| | | | | | - Young Ki Choi
- Microbiology, College of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Research Center, Chungbuk National University, Seowon-Gu, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
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Abstract
Pomelo (Citrus grandis) is widely cultivated in MeiZhou Guangdong Province of China. In 2008, a disease on pomelo fruit caused significant economic losses by affecting fruit quality. Diseased fruit was collected in December 2008 from MeiZhou Guangdong, surface sterilized in 75% ethanol for 1 min and internal necrotic tissue was transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 28°C for 5 days. Three single-spore isolates were obtained from different fruit and identified as Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl. (synonyms Diplodia natalensis Pole-Evans and Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat.; teleomorph Botryosphaeria rhodina (Cooke) Arx) on the basis of morphological and physiological features. The fungus produced dark brown colonies (initially grayish) on PDA. Young hyphae were hyaline and aseptate, whereas mature hyphae were septate with irregular branches. Cultures of L. theobromae produced globular or irregular pycnidia abundantly on PDA (pH 3.5) at 28°C after 1 month. Mature conidia of L. theobromae were 20 to 26 × 12 to 15.5 μm, subovoid to ellipsoid-ovoid, initially hyaline and nonseptate, remaining hyaline for a long time, and finally becoming dark brown and one septate with melanin deposits on the inner surface of the wall arranged longitudinally giving a striate appearance to the conidia. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rDNA was amplified from gDNA using primers ITS1 (5'-TCCGATGGTGAACCTGCGG-3') and ITS4 (5'-TCCTCCGCTTATTGATATGC-3') (1). Amplicons were 542 bp long (GenBank Accession No. JF693024) and had 100% nucleotide identity with the corresponding sequence (GenBank Accession No. EU860391) of L. theobromae isolated from a Pinus sp. (2). To satisfy Koch's postulates, six asymptomatic fruit on potted plants were sprayed until runoff with a spore suspension (1 × 106 spores/ml) prepared from 30-day-old cultures of one isolate. Control fruit received water. Plants were covered with sterile wet gauze to maintain high humidity. Fruit spot symptoms similar to those on diseased field fruit appeared after 15 days on all inoculated fruits. L. theobromae was reisolated from all inoculated test fruit. No symptoms were observed on the fruit of control plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of L. theobromae causing disease on pomelo fruit in China. This pathogen has also been previously reported to be economically important on a number of other hosts by mostly affecting the leaves. References: (1) J. C. Batzer et al. Mycologia 97:1268, 2005. (2) C. A. Pérez et al. Fungal Divers. 41:53,2010.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Luo
- Department of Plant Protection, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China 510225 and Laboratory of Plant Nematology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China 510642
| | - Z Y Dong
- Department of Plant Protection, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China 510225
| | - S Y Bin
- Department of Plant Protection, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China 510225
| | - J T Lin
- Department of Plant Protection, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China 510225
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