Investigation of a New Electrostatic Sampler for Concentrating Biological and Non-Biological Aerosol Particles

The detection of airborne pathogens is becoming a subject of great concern in modern day society. Recent studies have shown that electrostatic samplers are suitable for collecting microorganisms as well as preserving their viability. In most of these studies, flow rates were lower than 12.5 L/min or required a concentration stage to increase the flow rate to 100 L/min. In the present study, a single stage electrostatic sampler was developed for an efficient collection of microorganisms at 100 L/min. The design is based on the positive DC corona between coaxial cylinders to continuously create charged particles as they pass through the sampler. The physical collection efficiency of the device was investigated by sampling the ambient air particles. The efficiency in collecting live biological samples was determined by sampling live bacterial spores with the collector situated inside an aerosol chamber. It is shown that particles of 0.3–0.35 μm are captured with an efficiency of about 86%, whereas cultivable spores of Bacillus thuringiensis are collected with an efficiency of about 94%. Results are compared with an analytical predictive model. The experimental results are similar to the efficiencies previously reported in the literature; however, the current sampler design features a higher flow rate which enables the device to be used as an alarm trigger in a shorter period of time

Das Lagemanagement des Robert Koch-Instituts während der COVID-19-Pandemie und der Austausch zwischen Bund und Ländern

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) plays a central role in Germany in the management of health hazards of biological origin. The RKI's crisis management aims to contribute to protecting the health of the population in Germany in significant epidemic situations and to maintain the RKI's working ability over a long period of time even under high load. This article illustrates the crisis management of the RKI in general as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. The generic RKI crisis management structures and the setup of the RKI emergency operations centre (EOC), their operationalisation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting challenges as of 31 October 2020 are described in this paper. The exchange between the federal and state governments during the pandemic is also described.The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extraordinary circumstances. During the epidemic situation, good communication and coordination has been essential, both within the RKI and with other federal or state authorities and expert groups. Under great pressure, the RKI produces and regularly updates recommendations, statements and assessments on various topics. To provide operational support for all COVID-19 related activities, an EOC was activated at the RKI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there are various challenges regarding personnel and structures. It became apparent that good preparation (e.g. existing task descriptions and premises) has an important positive impact on crisis management