Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27123934›Full record

ArticlePloS one2016

Multigeneration Cross-Contamination of Mail with Bacillus anthracis Spores.

Jason Edmonds, H D Alan Lindquist, Jonathan Sabol, Kenneth Martinez, Sean Shadomy, Tyler Cymet, Peter Emanuel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Triage Algorithms for Mass-Casualty Bioterrorism: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Assessment of biorisk management systems in high containment laboratories, 18 countries in Europe, 2016 and 2017.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2020
    Article
  3. Phage display as a tool for vaccine and immunotherapy development.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2020
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jason EdmondsEdgewood Chemical Biological Center, United States Army, Department of Defense, 5183 Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21010, United States of America.
H D Alan LindquistNational Homeland Security Research Center, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, United States of America.
Jonathan SabolEdgewood Chemical Biological Center, United States Army, Department of Defense, 5183 Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21010, United States of America.
Kenneth MartinezHWC Inc., 1100 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20005, United States of America.
Sean ShadomyNational Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, MS A-30, Atlanta, GA, 30333, United States of America.
Tyler CymetAssociate Vice President for Medical Education, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Chevy Chase, Maryland, 20815, United States of America.
Peter EmanuelEdgewood Chemical Biological Center, United States Army, Department of Defense, 5183 Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, 21010, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The release of biological agents, including those which could be used in biowarfare or bioterrorism in large urban areas, has been a concern for governments for nearly three decades. Previous incidents from Sverdlosk and the postal anthrax attack of 2001 have raised questions on the mechanism of spread of Bacillus anthracis spores as an aerosol or contaminant. Prior studies have demonstrated that Bacillus atrophaeus is easily transferred through simulated mail handing, but no reports have demonstrated this ability with Bacillus anthracis spores, which have morphological differences that may affect adhesion properties between spore and formite. In this study, equipment developed to simulate interactions across three generations of envelopes subjected to tumbling and mixing was used to evaluate the potential for cross-contamination of B. anthracis spores in simulated mail handling. In these experiments, we found that the potential for cross-contamination through letter tumbling from one generation to the next varied between generations while the presence of a fluidizer had no statistical impact on the transfer of material. Likewise, the presence or absence of a fluidizer had no statistically significant impact on cross-contamination levels or reaerosolization from letter opening.

Indexed as

AnthraxBacillus anthracisBioterrorismEnvironmental MonitoringEquipment ContaminationHumansPostal ServiceSpores, BacterialWorkplace

Identifiers

PMID27123934
PMCPMC4849716

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.