The concentration and size distribution of infectious aerosols produced by patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has never been directly measured. We aimed to assess the feasibility of a method that we developed to collect and quantify culturable cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subjects were recruited from a referral hospital and most had multidrug-resistant TB. They coughed into a chamber containing microbial air samplers while cough frequency was measured during two 5-minute sessions. Cough-generated aerosol cultures were positive in 4 of 16 subjects (25\%) with smear-positive pulmonary TB. There was a rapid decrease in the cough-generated aerosol cultures within the first 3 weeks of effective treatment. Culture-positive cough aerosols were associated with lack of treatment during the previous week (p = 0.007), and there was a trend in the association with cough frequency (p = 0.08). The size distributions of these aerosols were variable, but most particle sizes were in the respirable range. Quantification of viable cough-generated aerosols is feasible and offers a new approach to study infectiousness and transmission of M. tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens.
%0 Journal Article
%1 fennelly_cough-generated_2004
%A Fennelly, Kevin P
%A Martyny, John W
%A Fulton, Kayte E
%A Orme, Ian M
%A Cave, Donald M
%A Heifets, Leonid B
%D 2004
%J American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
%K Aerosols, Air Bacterial, Bias, Cough, Environmental Epidemiology, Feasibility Female, Fingerprinting, Humans, Male, Microbiology, Molecular, Monitoring, Mycobacterium Particle Pulmonary Reproducibility Results, Selection Sensitivity Size, Specificity, Sputum, Studies, Tuberculosis, and of tuberculosis, {DNA,} {DNA} {Multidrug-Resistant,}
%N 5
%P 604--9
%R 10.1164/rccm.200308-1101OC
%T Cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a new method to study infectiousness
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14656754
%V 169
%X The concentration and size distribution of infectious aerosols produced by patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has never been directly measured. We aimed to assess the feasibility of a method that we developed to collect and quantify culturable cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subjects were recruited from a referral hospital and most had multidrug-resistant TB. They coughed into a chamber containing microbial air samplers while cough frequency was measured during two 5-minute sessions. Cough-generated aerosol cultures were positive in 4 of 16 subjects (25\%) with smear-positive pulmonary TB. There was a rapid decrease in the cough-generated aerosol cultures within the first 3 weeks of effective treatment. Culture-positive cough aerosols were associated with lack of treatment during the previous week (p = 0.007), and there was a trend in the association with cough frequency (p = 0.08). The size distributions of these aerosols were variable, but most particle sizes were in the respirable range. Quantification of viable cough-generated aerosols is feasible and offers a new approach to study infectiousness and transmission of M. tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens.
@article{fennelly_cough-generated_2004,
abstract = {The concentration and size distribution of infectious aerosols produced by patients with pulmonary tuberculosis {(TB)} has never been directly measured. We aimed to assess the feasibility of a method that we developed to collect and quantify culturable cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subjects were recruited from a referral hospital and most had multidrug-resistant {TB.} They coughed into a chamber containing microbial air samplers while cough frequency was measured during two 5-minute sessions. Cough-generated aerosol cultures were positive in 4 of 16 subjects (25\%) with smear-positive pulmonary {TB.} There was a rapid decrease in the cough-generated aerosol cultures within the first 3 weeks of effective treatment. Culture-positive cough aerosols were associated with lack of treatment during the previous week (p = 0.007), and there was a trend in the association with cough frequency (p = 0.08). The size distributions of these aerosols were variable, but most particle sizes were in the respirable range. Quantification of viable cough-generated aerosols is feasible and offers a new approach to study infectiousness and transmission of M. tuberculosis and other airborne pathogens.},
added-at = {2011-03-11T10:05:34.000+0100},
author = {Fennelly, Kevin P and Martyny, John W and Fulton, Kayte E and Orme, Ian M and Cave, Donald M and Heifets, Leonid B},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/240fc4c28167eddc597d2f43042e264b5/jelias},
doi = {10.1164/rccm.200308-1101OC},
interhash = {84cfbbc7ae10fb9b409f47784e2c7a39},
intrahash = {40fc4c28167eddc597d2f43042e264b5},
issn = {{1073-449X}},
journal = {American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine},
keywords = {Aerosols, Air Bacterial, Bias, Cough, Environmental Epidemiology, Feasibility Female, Fingerprinting, Humans, Male, Microbiology, Molecular, Monitoring, Mycobacterium Particle Pulmonary Reproducibility Results, Selection Sensitivity Size, Specificity, Sputum, Studies, Tuberculosis, and of tuberculosis, {DNA,} {DNA} {Multidrug-Resistant,}},
month = mar,
note = {{PMID:} 14656754},
number = 5,
pages = {604--9},
shorttitle = {Cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis},
timestamp = {2011-03-11T10:05:38.000+0100},
title = {Cough-generated aerosols of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a new method to study infectiousness},
url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14656754},
volume = 169,
year = 2004
}