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Institutional outbreaks of rotavirus diarrhoea: potential role of fomites and environmental surfaces as vehicles for virus transmission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

Syed A. Sattar ,
Nellie Lloyd-Evans ,
V. Susan Springthorpe  and
Rama C. Nair
Syed A. Sattar
Affiliation:
From Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada
Nellie Lloyd-Evans
Affiliation:
From Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada
V. Susan Springthorpe
Affiliation:
From Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada
Rama C. Nair
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada
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To assess the potential of fomites and environmental surfaces as vehicles in the transmission of rotaviral diarrhoea, disks (1 cm diameter) of various porous and non-porous materials were contaminated with about 105 plaque-forming units of the Wa strain of human rotavirus (HRV) suspended in faecal matter. The contaminated disks were then held for 10 days at either room temperature (22±2 °C) or 4°C with the relative humidity (RH) at the high (85±5%), medium (50±5%) or low (25±5%) level. Survival was longer on non-porous surfaces at the lower temperature and at lower humidity. In contrast, survival on porous surfaces was very variable; better on cotton-polyester than on poster card or paper currency on which HRV survived very poorly. These results suggest that under the right environmental conditions, HRV-contaminated objects could play a role in the transmission of rotavirus infections in hospitals, nursing homes and day-care centres.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 96 , Issue 2 , April 1986 , pp. 277 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

References

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