Characterization and investigation of the airport microbiome as a basis for future microbial mitigation strategies in aviation interiors

Kurzfassung

With over 9 billion passengers annually, air travel can act as a vector for pathogen spread and the transmission of diseases over long distances. The potential of disease transmission exists in public transportation vehicles, such as trains, busses and airplanes, as passengers usually spend extended time periods in them with limited mobility. In the case of air travelling, this could apply to the airplane cabin, but also for the actual stay at the airport in terminal areas. Documented cases of transmission of pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 or Influenza have already suggested the risks of infection while travelling. In the frame of this study, we characterize the microbiome dynamics within the airport over time in order to inform novel long-term intervention strategies to reduce pathogen transmission between passengers. To this end, microbiological sampling campaigns are currently conducted at an airport in Germany. These campaigns include swapping of highly-touched surfaces by passengers such as toilets or arm rests in waiting areas, followed by fast detection methods such as targeted loopmediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for microorganisms of interest. Additionally, air filtration sampling is being conducted within the airport terminal buildings, using cultivation-based methods followed by microbial identification, for instance, by next-generation sequencing. During previous samplings, environmental microbes and opportunistic human pathogens could be identified. Pseudomonas stutzeri was selected as a key isolate for further study and is currently being tested to determine its stability and transmission profile on airplane cabin material samples provided by AIRBUS. Using this isolate, we are also testing potentially new antimicrobial surfaces and coatings to analyze their potential in reducing the microbial load within air travel indoor environments. We will present initial data on these tests, with a focus on the investigation of the molecular mechanisms of these antimicrobial interventions on the organisms and their microbial stress responses, analyzed through diverse approaches, including transcriptomic profiling, as well as complementary molecular microbiology assays.