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Breath-, air- and surface-borne SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals #MMPMID33078030
Zhou L; Yao M; Zhang X; Hu B; Li X; Chen H; Zhang L; Liu Y; Du M; Sun B; Jiang Y; Zhou K; Hong J; Yu N; Ding Z; Xu Y; Hu M; Morawska L; Grinshpun SA; Biswas P; Flagan RC; Zhu B; Liu W; Zhang Y
J Aerosol Sci 2021[Feb]; 152 (ä): 105693 PMID33078030show ga
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented crisis to the global health sector. When discharging COVID-19 patients in accordance with throat or nasal swab protocols using RT-PCR, the potential risk of reintroducing the infection source to humans and the environment must be resolved. Here, 14 patients including 10 COVID-19 subjects were recruited; exhaled breath condensate (EBC), air samples and surface swabs were collected and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in four hospitals with applied natural ventilation and disinfection practices in Wuhan. Here we discovered that 22.2% of COVID-19 patients (n = 9), who were ready for hospital discharge based on current guidelines, had SARS-CoV-2 in their exhaled breath (~10(5) RNA copies/m(3)). Although fewer surface swabs (3.1%, n = 318) tested positive, medical equipment such as face shield frequently contacted/used by healthcare workers and the work shift floor were contaminated by SARS-CoV-2 (3-8 viruses/cm(2)). Three of the air samples (n = 44) including those collected using a robot-assisted sampler were detected positive by a digital PCR with a concentration level of 9-219 viruses/m(3). RT-PCR diagnosis using throat swab specimens had a failure rate of more than 22% in safely discharging COVID-19 patients who were otherwise still exhaling the SARS-CoV-2 by a rate of estimated ~1400 RNA copies per minute into the air. Direct surface contact might not represent a major transmission route, and lower positive rate of air sample (6.8%) was likely due to natural ventilation (1.6-3.3 m/s) and regular disinfection practices. While there is a critical need for strengthening hospital discharge standards in preventing re-emergence of COVID-19 spread, use of breath sample as a supplement specimen could further guard the hospital discharge to ensure the safety of the public and minimize the pandemic re-emergence risk.
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J+Aerosol+Sci 2021 ; 152 (ä): 105693
