Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.P.H.
Degree Name
MS in Public Health (M.S.P.H.)
Degree Granting Department
Public Health
Major Professor
Rene' Salazar, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Thomas E. Bernard, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Christine McGuire-Wolfe, Ph.D, CIC, CPH
Keywords
biological agents, contamination, pathogen prevalence, police patrol cars
Abstract
Law enforcement personnel have a variety of responsibilities and subsequently, a variety of different exposures. Biological agents are common in the environment and therefore, these exposures are a concern in the profession. There is a gap in research into biological agent exposures in this profession, particularly how it relates to surface contamination and within the officers’ vehicles. There is also a lack of standardized decontamination procedures for patrol vehicles, allowing for the potential persistence of these agents. The purpose of this study is to understand which biological agents are most common in patrol cars, which areas within the vehicles have the most contamination, and how time since a backseat passenger was present in the car effects pathogen prevalence. Biological swab sampling of ten high-touch areas was completed in 20 police patrol cars at an urban sheriff’s office in Florida. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests were completed on the collected samples for four agents of interest. Results were compared among the agents, sampling locations, and time since backseat passengers were last transported. The results of this study indicated that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was the most common pathogen of those analyzed. Each sampling surface had at least one positive result, indicating that each of the high-touch areas chosen to have the potential for contamination. In general, as time since a backseat passenger was present increased, so did pathogen prevalence. Future studies into this topic should consider sampling more vehicles across a wide variety of police departments and types and across multiple days
Scholar Commons Citation
Corcho, Haylie, "Patrol Car Swab Sampling for Biological Agents" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10492
