SARS-CoV-2 in hospital indoor environments is predominantly non-infectious.
Virol J
; 18(1): 109, 2021 06 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1388777
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has spread rapidly worldwide and disease prevention is more important than ever. In the absence of a vaccine, knowledge of the transmission routes and risk areas of infection remain the most important existing tools to prevent further spread.METHODS:
Here we investigated the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment at the Uppsala University Hospital Infectious Disease ward by RT-qPCR and determined the infectivity of the detected virus in vitro on Vero E6 cells.RESULTS:
SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in several areas, although attempts to infect Vero E6 cells with positive samples were unsuccessful. However, RNase A treatment of positive samples prior to RNA extraction did not degrade viral RNA, indicating the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsids or complete virus particles protecting the RNA as opposed to free viral RNA.CONCLUSION:
Our results show that even in places where a moderate concentration (Ct values between 30 and 38) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found; no infectious virus could be detected. This suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment subsides in two states; as infectious and as non-infectious. Future work should investigate the reasons for the non-infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 virions.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Environmental Monitoring
/
Cross Infection
/
Disease Transmission, Infectious
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Virol J
Journal subject:
Virology
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S12985-021-01556-6
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