Detection of Common Respiratory Viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Patient-Occupied Rooms in Pediatric Wards

Wan, Gwo-Hwa; Huang, Chung-Guei; Chung, Fen-Fang; Lin, Tzou-Yien; Tsao, Kuo-Chien; Huang, Yhu-Chering

Air sampling of the patients' rooms was conducted within 2 days after the patients had moved in. Air samplers were placed 60 to 180 cm (defined as ''short distance'' sampling) and 320 cm (defined as ''long distance'' sampling) from the head of the each patient's bed and collected 2 and 24 h, respectively, after placement. Air sampling was performed 1.2 to 1.5 m above the floor (i.e., in the breathing zone). Indoor air was filtered through a closed-face, 3-piece disposable plastic cassette with a 0.2 mm polytetrafluoroethylene filter (Whatman, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) at airflow rates of 4 and 12 L/ min for bioaerosol sampling at the short distance and long distance, respectively. After air sampling, the filters were stored immediately at À808C until analysis. Ten percent of the blank samples were examined to detect the RNA or DNA of the viruses and M pneumoniae. 40 For quantitative analysis of the viruses and M pneumoniae, 116 air samples were collected.