Microbial Exchange via Fomites and Implications for Human Health

• Published in: Current pollution reports Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 198 - 213
• Main Authors: Stephens, Brent, Azimi, Parham, Thoemmes, Megan S., Heidarinejad, Mohammad, Allen, Joseph G., Gilbert, Jack A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Aquatic Pollution; Asthma; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Biology and Pollution (G O’Mullan and R Boopathy; Biology and Pollution (G O’Mullan and R Boopathy, Section Editors); Built environment; Cellular telephones; Countertops; Disease transmission; Drug resistance; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Law/Policy/Ecojustice; Epidemiology; Fomites; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Infectious diseases; Literature reviews; Mathematical models; Microbial activity; Microbial contamination; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Pathogens; Pollution; Porous materials; Section Editors; Sequences; Surface properties; Survival; Topical Collection on Biology and Pollution; Urban environments; Viruses; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Built environment; Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA); Microbiology; Aerosol; Contamination; Infectious disease transmission

Purpose of Review Fomites are inanimate objects that become colonized with microbes and serve as potential intermediaries for transmission to/from humans. This review summarizes recent literature on fomite contamination and microbial survival in the built environment, transmission between fomites an...