Increased Airborne Bacterial Survival as a Function of Particle Content and Size

Two test vegetative bacteria, Pseudomonas syringae and Erwinia herbicola, and a physical aerosol decay indicator, Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores, were sprayed into a particle size fractionating wind tunnel. Test bacterial survival significantly increased directly with droplet size for varying test cell to spore ratios and temperature. However, survival varied inversely with relative humidity.