Viable SARS-CoV-2 detected in the air of hospital rooms of patients with COVID-19 with an early infection.
Int J Infect Dis
; 126: 73-78, 2022 Nov 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2242218
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
This study assessed the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in the air of hospital rooms occupied by patients with COVID-19 who had viable SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal (NP) samples in early infection.METHODS:
Between July and October 2021, NP swabs were collected from 20 patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to a tertiary hospital in Japan. Air samples were collected from their rooms, tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and cultured to determine potential infectivity.RESULTS:
The NP swab samples of 18 patients were positive for viable SARS-CoV-2 (median concentration 4.0 × 105 tissue culture infectious dose 50/ml). In the air samples, viral RNA (median concentration 1.1 × 105 copies/m3) was detected in 12/18 (67%) patients, and viable virus (median concentration 8.9 × 102 tissue culture infectious dose 50/m3) was detected in 5/18 (28%) patients. The median time between illness onset and sampling was 3 days. The RNA concentration was significantly higher in samples wherein viable SARS-CoV-2 was detected than in samples in which viable virus was not detected (P-value = 0.027).CONCLUSION:
Viable SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in the air surrounding patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection. Health care workers should pay attention to infection control when caring for patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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