Molecular Biological Characterization of Air Samples: A Survey of Four Strategically Important Regions

Abstract : Defense of overseas installations and personnel is a high priority for DoD and other U.S. Government agencies. In support of this requirement, the Joint Program Office for Biological Defense initiated an aggressive program incorporating the development of air-sampling and agent detecting devices, coined the Portal Shield/Port Biological Detection System. Since initiation of development, several iterations of the device have been developed and manufactured. However, in all iterations, operation remains essentially unchanged. Air is collected and any particulate matter interrogated for size and potential biological origin. The concentrated material is deposited in a liquid media and evaluated further for specific identification of agents. Field testing of Portal Shield modifications has progressed to operational evaluation and use overseas. Two United States airbases in Korea and two bases in southwest Asia were selected for these tests. In addition to conducting field testing of the equipment, it was decided to also collect ambient air samples in order to obtain ambient, normal background determinations in these strategically important regions over an extended period. This report describes the analysis of samples collected over nearly 2 years, a total of roughly 2,100 individual samples. Sequence data are archived on a CD.