Surface and Air Contamination With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 From Hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients in Toronto, Canada, March-May 2020.
J Infect Dis
; 225(5): 768-776, 2022 03 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1722480
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
We determined the burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in air and on surfaces in rooms of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and investigated patient characteristics associated with SARS-CoV-2 environmental contamination.METHODS:
Nasopharyngeal swabs, surface, and air samples were collected from the rooms of 78 inpatients with COVID-19 at 6 acute care hospitals in Toronto from March to May 2020. Samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA), cultured to determine potential infectivity, and whole viral genomes were sequenced. Association between patient factors and detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in surface samples were investigated.RESULTS:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA was detected from surfaces (125 of 474 samples; 42 of 78 patients) and air (3 of 146 samples; 3 of 45 patients); 17% (6 of 36) of surface samples from 3 patients yielded viable virus. Viral sequences from nasopharyngeal and surface samples clustered by patient. Multivariable analysis indicated hypoxia at admission, polymerase chain reaction-positive nasopharyngeal swab (cycle threshold ofâ ≤30) on or after surface sampling date, higher Charlson comorbidity score, and shorter time from onset of illness to sampling date were significantly associated with detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in surface samples.CONCLUSIONS:
The infrequent recovery of infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus from the environment suggests that the risk to healthcare workers from air and near-patient surfaces in acute care hospital wards is likely limited.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Nasopharynx
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Infect Dis
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Infdis
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