ABSTRACT
Uniform practices and quality control methods are needed to detect and quantify airborne viruses across sampling and analysis platforms. We compared detection of airborne SARSCoV-2 RNA in residences of individuals with COVID-19 using two commonly used criteria: environmental (at least one SARS-CoV-2-specific gene and internal control amplified by PCR with Ct ≤ 40) and clinical (at least two SARS-CoV-2-specific genes and internal control amplified with Ct ≤ 37). 24-hr total aerosol samples were collected in a self-isolation room and an additional room without manipulating subjects' behavior/activities. Under the environmental criterion, 7/16 samples in primary rooms and 7/15 samples in secondary rooms were positive. Comparable but lower positive sample proportions were observed using the more rigorous clinical criterion: 6/16 primary rooms and 5/15 secondary rooms. A consensus SARS-CoV-2 environmental sampling and analysis framework is needed for comparisons between studies. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.