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Evaluation of the Efficacy of Methyl Bromide in the Decontamination of Building and Interior Materials Contaminated with Bacillus anthracis Spores.

ABSTRACT: The primary goal of this study was to determine the conditions required for the effective inactivation of Bacillus anthracis spores on materials by using methyl bromide (MeBr) gas. Another objective was to obtain comparative decontamination efficacy data with three avirulent microorganisms to assess their potential for use as surrogates for B. anthracis Ames. Decontamination tests were conducted with spores of B. anthracis Ames and Geobacillus stearothermophilus, B. anthracis NNR1Δ1, and B. anthracis Sterne inoculated onto six different materials. Experimental variables included temperature, relative humidity (RH), MeBr concentration, and contact time. MeBr was found to be an effective decontaminant under a number of conditions. This study highlights the important role that RH has when fumigation is performed with MeBr. There were no tests in which a ≥6-log10 reduction (LR) of B. anthracis Ames was achieved on all materials when fumigation was done at 45% RH. At 75% RH, an increase in the temperature, the MeBr concentration, or contact time generally improved the efficacy of fumigation with MeBr. This study provides new information for the effective use of MeBr at temperatures and RH levels lower than those that have been recommended previously. The study also provides data to assist with the selection of an avirulent surrogate for B. anthracis Ames spores when additional tests with MeBr are conducted.

SUBMITTER: Wood JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4807506 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Whole-building decontamination of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores by methyl bromide fumigation.

Project description:To evaluate the field inactivation of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores with methyl bromide (MB) using commercial fumigation techniques.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.MB fumigation is a rapid, economical and effective whole-structure decontamination method for B. anthracis spores.MB fumigation offers a method of whole-structure B. anthracis decontamination without removal of materials, damage to sensitive electronics, costly indoor retrofitting.

| S-EPMC4738447 | biostudies-other

The use of ozone gas for the inactivation of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus subtilis spores on building materials.

Project description:A study was conducted to assess the efficacy of ozone gas in inactivating spores of both Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus subtilis inoculated onto six building materials (glass, wood, carpet, laminate, galvanized metal, and wallboard paper). Testing conditions consisted of ozone gas concentrations ranging from 7,000-12,000 parts per million (ppm), contact times from 4 to 12 h, and two relative humidity (RH) levels of 75 and 85%. Results showed that increasing the ozone concentration, contact time, and RH generally increased decontamination efficacy. The materials in which the highest decontamination efficacy was achieved for B. anthracis spores were wallboard paper, carpet, and wood with ? 6 log10 reduction (LR) occurring with 9,800 ppm ozone, 85% RH, for 6 h. The laminate and galvanized metal materials were generally more difficult to decontaminate, requiring 12,000 ppm ozone, 85% RH, and 9-12 h contact time to achieve ?6 LR of B. anthracis. Lastly, overall, there were no significant differences in decontamination efficacy between the two species.

| S-EPMC7241793 | biostudies-literature

Review of Decontamination Techniques for the Inactivation of Bacillus anthracis and Other Spore-Forming Bacteria Associated with Building or Outdoor Materials.

Project description:Since the intentional release of Bacillus anthracis spores through the U.S. Postal Service in the fall of 2001, research and development related to decontamination for this biological agent have increased substantially. This review synthesizes the advances made relative to B. anthracis spore decontamination science and technology since approximately 2002, referencing the open scientific literature and publicly available, well-documented scientific reports. In the process of conducting this review, scientific knowledge gaps have also been identified. This review focuses primarily on techniques that are commercially available and that could potentially be used in the large-scale decontamination of buildings and other structures, as well as outdoor environments. Since 2002, the body of scientific data related to decontamination and microbial sterilization has grown substantially, especially in terms of quantifying decontamination efficacy as a function of several factors. Specifically, progress has been made in understanding how decontaminant chemistry, the materials the microorganisms are associated with, environmental factors, and microbiological methods quantitatively impact spore inactivation. While advancement has been made in the past 15 years to further the state of the science in the inactivation of bacterial spores in a decontamination scenario, further research is warranted to close the scientific gaps that remain.

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Environmental Persistence of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus subtilis Spores.

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<i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> Predation on <i>Bacillus anthracis</i>: Decontamination of Spore Contaminated Soil with Germinants and Nematodes.

Project description:Remediation of Bacillus anthracis-contaminated soil is challenging and approaches to reduce overall spore levels in environmentally contaminated soil or after intentional release of the infectious disease agent in a safe, low-cost manner are needed. B. anthracis spores are highly resistant to biocides, but once germinated they become susceptible to traditional biocides or potentially even natural predators such as nematodes in the soil environment. Here, we describe a two-step approach to reducing B. anthracis spore load in soil during laboratory trials, whereby germinants and Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes are applied concurrently. While the application of germinants reduced B. anthracis spore load by up to four logs depending on soil type, the addition of nematodes achieved a further log reduction in spore count. These laboratory based results suggest that the combined use of nematodes and germinants could represent a promising approach for the remediation of B. anthracis spore contaminated soil. Originality-Significance Statement: This study demonstrates for the first time the successful use of environmentally friendly decontamination methods to inactivate Bacillus anthracis spores in soil using natural predators of the bacterium, nematode worms.

| S-EPMC5770795 | biostudies-literature

Identifying experimental surrogates for Bacillus anthracis spores: a review.

Project description:Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a proven biological weapon. In order to study this threat, a number of experimental surrogates have been used over the past 70 years. However, not all surrogates are appropriate for B. anthracis, especially when investigating transport, fate and survival. Although B. atrophaeus has been widely used as a B. anthracis surrogate, the two species do not always behave identically in transport and survival models. Therefore, we devised a scheme to identify a more appropriate surrogate for B. anthracis. Our selection criteria included risk of use (pathogenicity), phylogenetic relationship, morphology and comparative survivability when challenged with biocides. Although our knowledge of certain parameters remains incomplete, especially with regards to comparisons of spore longevity under natural conditions, we found that B. thuringiensis provided the best overall fit as a non-pathogenic surrogate for B. anthracis. Thus, we suggest focusing on this surrogate in future experiments of spore fate and transport modelling.

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Detection of Bacillus anthracis and Bacillus anthracis-like spores in soil from state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Bacillus anthracis is the aetiologic agent of anthrax, a re-emerging, septicaemic, haemorrhagic and lethal disease that affects humans, domestic ruminants and wildlife. Plasmids pXO1 and pXO2 are attributes that confer pathogenicity to B. anthracis strains. This bacterium was used as biological weapon in the World Wars and in the biological attack in the United States of America at 2001. B. anthracis is classified as a Tier 1 bioterrorism agent by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. Anthrax is recognised as a re-emerging disease. Several studies concerning the dynamics of B. anthracis cycle in soil revealed that nonpathogenic B. anthracis strains due to lack of pXO2 plasmid are commonly found in some types of soil. OBJECTIVES:This study aimed isolation and identification of B. anthracis spores in soil samples of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. METHODS:Phenotypic and genotypic approaches were used to identify isolates including MALDI-TOF/MS, motility test, susceptibility to gamma phage and penicillin, survey for pag and cap genes as surrogates of pXO1 and pXO2 plasmids, respectively, and sequencing of 16SrRNA-encoding gene. Physicochemical analysis of the soil samples were carried out to describe soil characteristics. FINDINGS:We observed the presence of one B. anthracis pXO1+ and pXO2- isolated from clay loam soil; one B. anthracis-like strain pXO1+ and pXO2-isolated from loamy sand; and 10 Bacillus spp. strains sensitive to phage-gamma that need better characterisation to define which their species were recovered from loamy sand. MAIN CONCLUSIONS:This work showed promising results and it was the first study to report results from an active surveillance for B. anthracis in Brazil.

| S-EPMC7646210 | biostudies-literature

Cooperativity and interference of germination pathways in Bacillus anthracis spores.

Project description:Spore germination is the first step to Bacillus anthracis pathogenicity. Previous work has shown that B. anthracis spores use germination (Ger) receptors to recognize amino acids and nucleosides as germinants. Genetic analysis has putatively paired each individual Ger receptor with a specific germinant. However, Ger receptors seem to be able to partially compensate for each other and recognize alternative germinants. Using kinetic analysis of B. anthracis spores germinated with inosine and L-alanine, we previously determined kinetic parameters for this germination process and showed binding synergy between the cogerminants. In this work, we expanded our kinetic analysis to determine kinetic parameters and binding order for every B. anthracis spore germinant pair. Our results show that germinant binding can exhibit positive, neutral, or negative cooperativity. Furthermore, different germinants can bind spores by either a random or an ordered mechanism. Finally, simultaneous triggering of multiple germination pathways shows that germinants can either cooperate or interfere with each other during the spore germination process. We postulate that the complexity of germination responses may allow B. anthracis spores to respond to different environments by activating different germination pathways.

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Nanomechanical Characterization of Bacillus anthracis Spores by Atomic Force Microscopy.

Project description:UnlabelledThe study of structures and properties of bacterial spores is important to understanding spore formation and biological responses to environmental stresses. While significant progress has been made over the years in elucidating the multilayer architecture of spores, the mechanical properties of the spore interior are not known. Here, we present a thermal atomic force microscopy (AFM) study of the nanomechanical properties of internal structures of Bacillus anthracis spores. We developed a nanosurgical sectioning method in which a stiff diamond AFM tip was used to cut an individual spore, exposing its internal structure, and a soft AFM tip was used to image and characterize the spore interior on the nanometer scale. We observed that the elastic modulus and adhesion force, including their thermal responses at elevated temperatures, varied significantly in different regions of the spore section. Our AFM images indicated that the peptidoglycan (PG) cortex of Bacillus anthracis spores consisted of rod-like nanometer-sized structures that are oriented in the direction perpendicular to the spore surface. Our findings may shed light on the spore architecture and properties.ImportanceA nanosurgical AFM method was developed that can be used to probe the structure and properties of the spore interior. The previously unknown ultrastructure of the PG cortex of Bacillus anthracis spores was observed to consist of nanometer-sized rod-like structures that are oriented in the direction perpendicular to the spore surface. The variations in the nanomechanical properties of the spore section were largely correlated with its chemical composition. Different components of the spore materials showed different thermal responses at elevated temperatures.

| S-EPMC4959069 | biostudies-literature

Decontamination Efficacy and Skin Toxicity of Two Decontaminants against Bacillus anthracis.

Project description:Decontamination of bacterial endospores such as Bacillus anthracis has traditionally required the use of harsh or caustic chemicals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a chlorine dioxide decontaminant in killing Bacillus anthracis spores in solution and on a human skin simulant (porcine cadaver skin), compared to that of commonly used sodium hypochlorite or soapy water decontamination procedures. In addition, the relative toxicities of these decontaminants were compared in human skin keratinocyte primary cultures. The chlorine dioxide decontaminant was similarly effective to sodium hypochlorite in reducing spore numbers of Bacillus anthracis Ames in liquid suspension after a 10 minute exposure. After five minutes, the chlorine dioxide product was significantly more efficacious. Decontamination of isolated swine skin contaminated with Bacillus anthracis Sterne with the chlorine dioxide product resulted in no viable spores sampled. The toxicity of the chlorine dioxide decontaminant was up to two orders of magnitude less than that of sodium hypochlorite in human skin keratinocyte cultures. In summary, the chlorine dioxide based decontaminant efficiently killed Bacillus anthracis spores in liquid suspension, as well as on isolated swine skin, and was less toxic than sodium hypochlorite in cultures of human skin keratinocytes.

| S-EPMC4578770 | biostudies-literature

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