Assessment of hospital environmental and personal protective equipment contamination with influenza A and B viruses by ultrasensitive droplet digital PCR.

OBJECTIVES

This study employed ultra-sensitive droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) to assess contamination of influenza A and B in hospital laboratories, patient wards, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

METHODS

The analytical performance of ddPCR for detecting influenza A and B viruses was firstly assessed using virus transport medium (VTM) simulation samples and real simulation samples. Subsequently, a total of 22 high-touch surface samples were collected from the laboratory environment, along with five PPE samples from laboratory staff. Additionally, we collected 42 environmental surface samples from the wards of patients infected with influenza A and B, as well as ten PPE samples from health care workers (HCWs). All samples were analyzed using ddPCR.

RESULTS

The results indicated that ddPCR can simultaneously detect the RNA of influenza A and B at a minimum concentration of 0.08 copies/µL in both VTM and real simulation samples, demonstrating exceptional stability and sensitivity. In the laboratory environment, influenza RNA was detected on 6 out of 22 high-touch surfaces, resulting in a positivity rate of 27.27 %. Furthermore, influenza RNA was detected on the laboratory staff's PPE. The overall positive rate of the wards housing influenza patients was 20 % (8/40); no influenza RNA was detected on two air outlet fans or on the PPE of the HCWs.

CONCLUSION

Ultra-sensitive ddPCR can effectively detect trace amounts of the influenza virus in the environment, including high-touch surfaces in laboratories, patient wards, and PPE. This advancement provides compelling evidence that this method is an innovative tool for epidemic prevention and control.