4.5 Article

The bacterial community of childcare centers: potential implications for microbial dispersal and child exposure

期刊

ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME
卷 17, 期 1, 页码 -

出版社

BMC
DOI: 10.1186/s40793-022-00404-6

关键词

Built environment; Childcare centers; Early childhood education centers; Microbiome; Preschool children; Fomites

资金

  1. Alfred P. Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment Postdoctoral Fellowship [G-2013-5-37 MBPF]
  2. National Science Foundation [1319293]
  3. North Carolina State University Research Innovation Seed Funding

向作者/读者索取更多资源

This study investigated the variation in bacterial community composition across different surfaces inside and outside childcare centers. The results showed that the childcare environment was mainly influenced by human-associated bacteria, and the bacterial community on surfaces correlated with usage and occupant density. There were greater differences in bacterial community within a classroom than among centers.
Background Bacterial communities within built environments reflect differences in sources of bacteria, building design, and environmental contexts. These communities impact the health of their occupants in many ways. Children interact with the built environment differently than do adults as a result of their unique behaviors, size, and developmental status. Consequently, understanding the broader bacterial community to which children are exposed will help inform public health efforts and contribute to our growing understanding of the bacterial community associated with childcare centers. Methods We sampled childcare centers to survey the variation in bacterial community composition across five surfaces found inside and outside twelve classrooms and six centers using 16S rRNA marker gene amplicon sequencing. We then correlated these bacterial community analyses of surfaces with environmental and demographic measures of illumination and classroom occupant density. Results The childcare environment was dominated by human-associated bacteria with modest input from outdoor sources. Though the bacterial communities of individual childcare centers differed, there was a greater difference in the bacterial community within a classroom than among centers. Surface habitats-fomites-within the classroom, did not differ in community composition despite differing proximity to likely sources of bacteria, and possible environmental filters, such as light. Bacterial communities did correlate with occupant density and differed significantly between high and low usage surfaces. Conclusions Our results suggest built environments inhabited by young children are similar to functionally equivalent built environments inhabited by adults, despite the different way young children engage with their environment. Ultimately, these results will be useful when further interrogating microbial dispersal and human exposure to microorganisms in built environments that specifically cater to young children.

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