Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms.
Occup Environ Med
; 78(12): 893-899, 2021 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1388534
Preprint
This scientific journal article is probably based on a previously available preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
See preprint
This scientific journal article is probably based on a previously available preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
See preprint
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 infections in farmed minks raised immediate concerns regarding transmission to humans and initiated intensive environmental investigations to assess occupational and environmental exposure.METHODS:
Air sampling was performed at infected Dutch mink farms, at farm premises and at nearby residential sites. A range of other environmental samples were collected from minks' housing units, including bedding materials. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was analysed in all samples by quantitative PCR.RESULTS:
Inside the farms, considerable levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in airborne dust, especially in personal inhalable dust samples (approximately 1000-10 000 copies/m3). Most of the settling dust samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (82%, 75 of 92). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in outdoor air samples, except for those collected near the entrance of the most recently infected farm. Many samples of minks' housing units and surfaces contained SARS-CoV-2 RNA.CONCLUSIONS:
Infected mink farms can be highly contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This warns of occupational exposure, which was substantiated by considerable SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in personal air samples. Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 to outdoor air was found to be limited and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in air samples collected beyond farm premises, implying a negligible risk of environmental exposure to nearby communities. Our occupational and environmental risk assessment is in line with whole genome sequencing analyses showing mink-to-human transmission among farm workers, but no indications of direct zoonotic transmission events to nearby communities.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
RNA, Viral
/
Occupational Exposure
/
Dust
/
Environmental Exposure
/
Farms
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
Mink
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Occup Environ Med
Journal subject:
Occupational Medicine
/
Environmental Health
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
OEMED-2021-107443
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