Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019;5(4):198-213.
doi: 10.1007/s40726-019-00123-6. Epub 2019 Aug 31.

Microbial Exchange via Fomites and Implications for Human Health

Brent Stephens  1 , Parham Azimi  2 , Megan S Thoemmes  3 , Mohammad Heidarinejad  1 , Joseph G Allen  2 , Jack A Gilbert  3
Affiliations
Review

Microbial Exchange via Fomites and Implications for Human Health

Brent Stephens et al. Curr Pollut Rep. 2019.

Abstract

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 and humans, and implications for human health.

Recent findings: Applications of molecular sequencing techniques to analyze microbial samples have increased our understanding of the microbial diversity that exists in the built environment. This growing body of research has established that microbial communities on surfaces include substantial diversity, with considerable dynamics. While many microbial taxa likely die or lay dormant, some organisms survive, including those that are potentially beneficial, benign, or pathogenic. Surface characteristics also influence microbial survival and rates of transfer to and from humans. Recent research has combined experimental data, mechanistic modeling, and epidemiological approaches to shed light on the likely contributors to microbial exchange between fomites and humans and their contributions to adverse (and even potentially beneficial) human health outcomes.

Summary: In addition to concerns for fomite transmission of potential pathogens, new analytical tools have uncovered other microbial matters that can be transmitted indirectly via fomites, including entire microbial communities and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Mathematical models and epidemiological approaches can provide insight on human health implications. However, both are subject to limitations associated with study design, and there is a need to better understand appropriate input model parameters. Fomites remain an important mechanism of transmission of many microbes, along with direct contact and short- and long-range aerosols.

Keywords: Aerosol; Built environment; Contamination; Infectious disease transmission; Microbiology; Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA).

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual figure demonstrating various microbial transmission pathways between humans, air, and fomites in a typical indoor environment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Nutton V. The seeds of disease: an explanation of contagion and infection from the Greeks to the renaissance. Med Hist. 1983;27:1–34. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Klepeis NE, Nelson WC, Ott WR, Robinson JP, Tsang AM, Switzer P, et al. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2001;11:231–52. - PubMed
    1. •• Lax S, Smith DP, Hampton-Marcell J, Owens SM, Handley KM, Scott NM, et al. Longitudinal analysis of microbial interaction between humans and the indoor environment. Science. 2014;345:1048–52. This study characterized the longitudinal succession of bacterial communities on indoor surfaces in 7 homes, finding that microbial communities were largely sourced from humans and were identifiable by family. - PMC - PubMed
    1. •• Chase J, Fouquier J, Zare M, Sonderegger DL, Knight R, Kelley ST, et al. Geography and location are the primary drivers of office microbiome composition. mSystems. 2016;1:e00022-16. This study investigated the impacts of a wide variety of parameters including geography, material type, human interaction, location in a room, seasonal variation, and indoor and microenvironmental parameters on bacterial communities in offices. - PMC - PubMed
    1. • Stobnicka A, Gołofit-Szymczak M, Wójcik-Fatla A, Zając V, Korczyńska-Smolec J, Górny RL. Prevalence of human parainfluenza viruses and noroviruses genomes on office fomites. Food Environ Virol. 2018;10:133–40. This study evaluated the potential role of office fomites in respiratory and enteric virus transmission by assessing the occurrence of viruses on 130 surfaces from both open-space and non-open-space rooms in office buildings during a 9-month period. - PMC - PubMed