Abstract
As a leading global city with a high population density, Singapore is at risk for the introduction of novel biological threats. This risk has been recently reinforced by human epidemics in Singapore of SARS coronavirus, 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus, and enterovirus 71. Other major threats to Singapore include MERS-coronavirus and various avian and swine influenza viruses. The ability to quickly identify and robustly track such threats to initiate an early emergency response remains a significant challenge. In an effort to enhance respiratory virus surveillance in Singapore, our team conducted a pilot study employing a noninvasive bioaerosol sampling method to detect respiratory viruses in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network. Over a period of 52 weeks, 89 aerosol samples were collected during peak MRT ridership hours. Nine (10%) tested positive for adenovirus, four (4.5%) tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus type A, and one (1%) tested positive for influenza A virus using real-time RT-PCR/PCR. To our knowledge, this is the first time molecular evidence for any infectious respiratory agent has been collected from Singapore’s MRT. Our pilot study data support the possibility of employing bioaerosol samplers in crowded public spaces to noninvasively monitor for respiratory viruses circulating in communities.
Highlights
As a leading global city with a high population density, Singapore is at risk for the introduction of novel biological threats
Using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), fourteen (16%) of the aerosol samples collected from the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) tested positive for one or more respiratory viruses
Nine (64%) of the virus-positive aerosol samples were collected from the North East MRT Line (NEL; Purple) and five (36%) from the East West MRT Line (EWL; Green)
Summary
As a leading global city with a high population density, Singapore is at risk for the introduction of novel biological threats This risk has been recently reinforced by human epidemics in Singapore of SARS coronavirus, 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus, and enterovirus 71. A high population density, international tourism and trade traffic puts Singapore at a high risk of novel emerging respiratory epidemics This risk has been recently reinforced by human epidemics in Singapore of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)1, 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus[2], and enterovirus 713,4 (which causes hand, foot and mouth disease). Other major threats to Singapore include Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV)[5,6] and various avian[7] (H7N4, H7N9, H5N2, H5N1, etc.) and swine[8] (H3N2, H1N1, H1N2) influenza A viruses, especially if they become highly transmissible between humans. We asked, could noninvasive bioaerosol sampling detect respiratory viruses in Singapore’s MRT network?
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