Observational studyEBioMedicine2025
Interpretation of indoor air surveillance for respiratory infections: a prospective longitudinal observational study in a childcare setting.
Observational study in EBioMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Citywide indoor air sampling mirrors wastewater and clinical case surveillance of respiratory viruses.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Adaptation of the multiplexed CRISPR-Cas13 CARMEN RVP assay for longitudinal detection of respiratory pathogens from air samples.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2026Article
- Review
- Adaptation of the multiplexed CRISPR-Cas13 CARMEN RVP assay for longitudinal detection of respiratory pathogens from air samples.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Shotgun metagenomics on indoor air for surveillance of respiratory, enteric, and skin viruses in a Belgian daycare setting, January to December 2022.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2025Article
- Article
- New questions and avenues for research regarding interpretation of the significance of respiratory viruses adrift in the air.EBioMedicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSampling the air in indoor congregate settings, where respiratory pathogens are ubiquitous, may constitute a valuable yet underutilised data source for community-wide surveillance of respiratory infections. However, there is a lack of research comparing air sampling and individual sampling of attendees. Therefore, it remains unclear how air sampling results should be interpreted for the purpose of surveillance.
methodsIn this prospective observational study, we compared the presence and concentration of several respiratory pathogens in the air with the number of attendees with infections and the pathogen load in their nasal mucus. Weekly for 22 consecutive weeks, we sampled the air in a single childcare setting in Belgium. Concurrently, we collected the paper tissues used to wipe the noses of 23 regular attendees: children aged zero to three and childcare workers. All samples were tested for 29 respiratory pathogens using PCR.
findingsAir sampling sensitively detected most respiratory pathogens found in nasal mucus. Some pathogens (SARS-CoV-2, Pneumocystis jirovecii) were found repeatedly in the air, but rarely in nasal mucus, whilst the opposite was true for others (Human coronavirus NL63). All three pathogens with a clear outbreak pattern (Human coronavirus HKU-1, human parainfluenza virus 3 and 4) were found in the air one week before or concurrent with the first detection in paper tissue samples. The presence and concentration of pathogens in the air was best predicted by the pathogen load of the most infectious case. However, air pathogen concentrations also correlated with the number of attendees with infections. Detection and concentration in the air were associated with CO
interpretationOur results suggest that air sampling could provide sensitive, responsive epidemiological indicators for the surveillance of respiratory pathogens. Using air CO
fundingKU Leuven; DURABLE project, under the EU4Health Programme of the European Commission; Thermo Fisher Scientific.
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