Evaluation of Commercial Off-the-Shelf Solutions for Supporting Viability Retention of Yersinia Pestis Cells
Abstract
There is a pressing need to preserve the viability of biological warfare (BW) threat agents collected in the field. Despite major gains in nucleic acid sequencing technologies, true positive identification and credible threat assessment of BW agents rely on the direct culture (and quantification) of the live cells. Solutions aiding the viability sustainment of pathogens contained within clinical samples have been recommended in the past, but many of these have not been examined for their ability to preserve BW cells relevant to the U.S. military (e.g., Yersinia pestis). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of 17 different solutions in preserving the viability of non-refrigerated, avirulent Y. pestis A1122 cells that were collected from various surfaces. The solutions were evaluated for viability sustainment over a 14 day period at three different temperatures (4, 22, and 40 C). Polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed on samples that did not show any viable cells at the end of the study to determine if nucleic acids were degraded. The study also evaluated the sampling efficiency and decay rates (at three temperatures) of Y. pestis cells that were inoculated on two different surfaces.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1041937
Entities
People
- Daniel Angelini
- Jacquelyn Harris
- Kristy Williams
- Laura Burton
- Lisa Smith
- Pooga Rastogi
- Savannah Hurst
- Vipin Rastogi
Organizations
- Edgewood Chemical Biological Center