{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T12:01:39Z","timestamp":1769083299198,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000066","name":"NIEHS","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["5R25ES033038-04"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5R25ES033038-04"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000066","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000030","name":"U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000030","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000125","name":"National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000125","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health","award":["T42 OH0008428"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["T42 OH0008428"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Swine workers may be occupationally exposed to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) during time spent inside swine barns. Exposure may occur by inhaling S. aureus-containing particles or by touching contaminated surfaces or infected animals. Despite strong evidence that swine production work is a risk factor for increased nasal carriage of S. aureus, pathways of worker exposure within the swine barn setting have not been well characterized. We developed a Markov chain model to address this research gap by first describing the fate and transport of S. aureus-containing particles within a swine finishing barn. We defined 7 possible physical locations in and around the barn in which S. aureus-containing particles may exist and used published data to determine the probability that a particle will transition from any of these locations to the other locations during a 1-s time interval. We then used our model to estimate worker exposure to S. aureus during a period of 1\u2005s to 30\u2005min spent inside the swine barn. Finally, we modified inputs to simulate interventions to protect workers, such as ventilation controls, respirator use, and handwashing. Increasing the ventilation rate (ie the rate at which outdoor air replaces indoor air in the barn) in our model from the recommended rate for cold weather to the rate for mild weather resulted in a 59% decrease in the number of S. aureus-containing particles in the worker's respiratory system after 30\u2005min. Increasing ventilation rates further to the recommended rate for hot weather resulted in an additional 58% decrease. Models simulating floor and surface cleaning prior to the worker's entry into the barn had little impact on the air concentration of S. aureus (&amp;lt;1% change) but reduced worker exposure to facial membranes by up to 13%. Simulations of N-95 respirator wearing had the greatest impact on worker exposure. As modeled, a well-fitting N-95 respirator may reduce worker inhalation exposure from 1,772 to 72 S. aureus-containing particles after 30\u2005min in the barn, a 96% reduction. In our model, a poorly fitting N-95 respirator reduced exposure by about 30%, indicating that the type and fit of respirator worn has an important impact on the level worker protection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/annweh\/wxaf088","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,23]],"date-time":"2025-12-23T12:55:30Z","timestamp":1766494530000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Markov model for fate and transport of\n                    <i>Staphylococcus aureus<\/i>\n                    at a swine barn and proposed interventions to reduce worker exposures"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"70","author":[{"given":"Melissa G","family":"Edmondson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health , Cincinnati, OH 45226 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lee Ann","family":"Lucas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health , 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9869-284X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gurumurthy","family":"Ramachandran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore , 615, N. Wolfe Street, RM 6634, Baltimore, MD 21205-2103 ,","place":["United States"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026012113224563900_wxaf088-B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"434","DOI":"10.1080\/15459624.2013.875186","article-title":"Modeled effectiveness of ventilation with contaminant control devices on indoor air quality in a swine farrowing facility","volume":"11","author":"Anthony","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Occup Environ Hyg"},{"key":"2026012113224563900_wxaf088-B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0156390","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0156390","article-title":"Transfer and decontamination of S. aureus in transmission routes regarding hands and contact surfaces","volume":"11","author":"Arinder","year":"2016","journal-title":"PLoS 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