Detection of Air and Surface Contamination by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Hospital Rooms of Infected Patients

Submitted by anb149 on Thu, 05/21/2020 - 16:04
TitleDetection of Air and Surface Contamination by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Hospital Rooms of Infected Patients
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsChia, PY, Coleman, KK, Tan, YK, Ong, SWX, Gum, M, Lau, SK, Sutjipto, S, Lee, PH, Son, TT, Young, BE, Milton, DK, Gray, GC, Schuster, S, Barkham, T, De, PP, Vasoo, S, Chan, M, Ang, BSP, Tan, BH, Leo, YS, Ng, O-T, Wong, MSY, Marimuthu, K
JournalmedRxiv
Date Published4/9/2020
LanguageEnglish
Abstract

Understanding the particle size distribution in the air and patterns of environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 is essential for infection prevention policies. We aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 surface and air contamination and study associated patient-level factors. 245 surface samples were collected from 30 airborne infection isolation rooms of COVID-19 patients, and air sampling was conducted in 3 rooms. Air sampling detected SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive particles of sizes >4 μm and 1-4 μm in two rooms, which warrants further study of the airborne transmission potential of SARS-CoV-2. 56.7% of rooms had at least one environmental surface contaminated. High touch surface contamination was shown in ten (66.7%) out of 15 patients in the first week of illness, and three (20%) beyond the first week of illness (p = 0.01).
URLhttps://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.29.20046557v2