ABSTRACT
To better understand plausible SARS-CoV-2 transmission through fomites, a physiological model was designed to analyze the decay rate of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity. We focused on non-porous materials present in high-touch surfaces or used as containment barrier surfaces, namely glass, acrylic glass, photo-activated coated glass, stainless steel and aluminium. SARS-CoV-2 survival depended on the material considered, with half-lives on glass, photo-activated coated glass, stainless steel and aluminium equal to 6.9, 4.1, 3.5 and 2.3 h, respectively. This study highlights the potential utility of coatings in the fight against the current threat. In addition, it spotlights the need for standardizing assays to assess indirect transmission of COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is a severe respiratory disease caused by the emergence of a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that very quickly spread in the human population. Fine particulate matter (PM) generated from combustion engines have been described as toxic to human health. Recent events stressed that high concentrations of PM of air pollution might favor the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Autumn approaches, air pollution will be accentuated because of weather condition. The risk of a second outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic is highly probable. Elucidating the role of PM of air pollution in the spread of the virus is thus urgent and crucial.
ABSTRACT
The pandemic of respiratory disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is life-threatening in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. In PD patients with systemic viral infections, peritoneal effluent may be theoretically contaminated. We searched for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assays in serial PD effluents of three PD infected patients. Nasopharyngeal swabs obtained at admission showed high viral load in all three patients, whereas none of the PD effluent specimen tested positive, even after dialysate concentration. Those results support at most a very low SARS-CoV-2 dissemination risk by the peritoneal effluent of PD patients. Imposing special disposal procedures, such as the instillation of hypochlorite in the drainage bags to prevent viral spread to health-care workers, are probably not required.
Subject(s)
Ascitic Fluid/virology , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Kidney Failure, Chronic/therapy , Peritoneal Dialysis/methods , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/epidemiology , Adult , COVID-19 , COVID-19 Testing , COVID-19 Vaccines , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Kidney Failure, Chronic/diagnosis , Kidney Failure, Chronic/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Sampling Studies , Sensitivity and Specificity , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/diagnosis , Viral LoadABSTRACT
The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases have created a major crisis for public health systems. The critical identification of contagious asymptomatic carriers requires the isolation of viral nucleic acids, reverse transcription, and amplification by PCR. However, the shortage of specific proprietary reagents or the lack of automated platforms have seriously hampered diagnostic throughput in many countries. Here, we provide a procedure for SARS-CoV-2 detection for diagnostic purposes from clinical samples in the setting of a basic research molecular biology lab. The procedure details the necessary steps for daily analysis of up to 500 clinical samples with a team composed of 12 experienced researchers. The protocol has been designed to rely on widely available reagents and devices, to cope with heterogeneous clinical specimens, to guarantee nucleic acid extraction from very scarce biological material, and to minimize the rate of false-negative results.