Development and validation of a microbe detecting UAV payload

Airborne transport of microorganisms through the atmosphere has widespread implications for many atmospheric processes, ecological processes and human health. The proliferation of infectious disease-causing bacteria and fungi is of particular relevance, as many emerging diseases enter human populations via an atmospheric link to the surrounding environment. Coccidiodomycosis (Valley Fever), for instance, is a debilitating fungal disease contracted through the inhalation of Coccidiodes immitis and Coccidiodes posadasii of central California and elsewhere in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Recent studies suggest an increase in the incidence of Valley Fever throughout this region, but how the fungus is transported through the atmosphere is not well known. This is due in part to the fact that there is no effective and reliable standardized method for acquiring fungal spores at an elevated altitude, nor to do so rapidly-which would aid in limiting human exposure. This work fills the voids of sensing capability and rapid detection by means of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). The use of an sUAS enables low-altitude sampling, in addition to the low-cost development and operation of the payload. The payload consists of two coupled subsystems, which log environment data and extract a bioaerosol sample. The data and sample is analyzed and validated via a variety of molecular biological and microbiological techniques.