Browsing by Author "Kolk, Annette"
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- Filling the knowledge gap: scoping review regarding sampling methods, assays, and further requirements to assess airborne virusesPublication . Dias, Marta; Gomes, Bianca; Pena, Pedro; Cervantes, Renata; Beswick, Alan; Duchaine, Caroline; Kolk, Annette; Madsen, Anne Mette; Oppliger, Anne; Pogner, Clara; Duquenne, Philippe; Wouters, Inge M.; Crook, Brian; Viegas, CarlaAssessment of occupational exposure to viruses is crucial to identify virus reservoirs and sources of dissemination early and to help prevent spread between employees and the general population. Measuring workers' exposure can facilitate the assessment of the effectiveness of protective and mitigation measures in place. This scoping review aims to give an overview of available methods and those already implemented for airborne virus exposure assessment in different occupational and indoor environments. The results retrieved from the various studies may contribute to the setting of future standards and guidelines to ensure a reliable risk characterization in the occupational environments crucial for the implementation of effective control measures. The search aimed at selecting studies between January 1st, 2010, and June 30th, 2023 in the selected databases. Fifty papers on virus exposure assessment fitted the eligibility criteria and were selected for data extraction. Overall, this study identified gaps in knowledge regarding virus assessment and pinpointed the need for further research. Several discrepancies were found (transport temperatures, elution steps, …), as well as a lack of publication of important data related to the exposure conditions (contextual information). With the available information, it is impossible to compare results between studies employing different methods, and even if the same methods are used, different conclusions/ recommendations based on expert judgment have been reported due to the lack of consensus in the contextual information retrieved and/or data interpretation. Future research on the field targeting sampling methods and in the laboratory regarding the assays to employ should be developed bearing in mind the different goals of the assessment.
- Workplace air standardisation projects related to biological agents at European level: recent history and perspectivesPublication . Duquenne, Philippe; Kolk, Annette; Pogner, Clara; Viegas, Carla; Oppliger, Anne; Crook, Brian; Thom, Christian; Barzykowski, Elisabeth; Madsen, Anne-MetteAs a significant portion of our time is spent in workplaces, occupational exposure is of particular interest for maintaining human health. Within the Technical Committee CEN/TC 137 “Assessment of workplace exposure” the working group named WG5 “Biological Agents” is engaged in the standardization of strategies to assess workplace exposure to bioaerosols. The group already existed since the early 2000s in the European Committee of Standardization (CEN) and was reactivated in 2017 to continue on work items of prevailing interest. Between 2018 and 2021 three standards have been revised and newly published: EN 13098 (general guidelines for measurements), EN 14031 (measurement of airborne endotoxins), and EN 14583 (performance of sampling devices). As the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed, the work on bioaerosols is still important and many questions remain open. Recently, the work group drafted three new topics on which normative documents should be prepared in the future: “the measurement of airborne viruses”, “the measurement of airborne mycotoxins” and “the use of biomolecular methods for the measurement of airborne microorganisms”. As it is still a pressing topic, the work on the new preliminary work items has started with the preparation of a standard for virus measurement. The CEN/TC 137/WG5 has maintained its dynamic over the years and is also encouraging pre-normative research and networking. The work of the group contributes to a unified approach at the European level on the issue of biological risk assessment and makes it possible to disseminate a better awareness of biological risks.