Lednicky, John A., Michael Lauzardo, et. al. 2020. “Viable SARS-CoV-2 in the air of a hospital room with COVID-19 patients” International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Volume 100, pages 476-482.
Objectives: Because the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols but failure to isolate viable (infectious) virus are commonly reported, there is substantial controversy whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be transmitted through aerosols. This conundrum occurs because common air samplers can inactivate virions through their harsh collection processes. We sought to resolve the question whether viable SARS-CoV-2 can occur in aerosols using VIVAS air samplers that operate on a gentle water vapor condensation principle.
Methods: Air samples collected in the hospital room of two coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients, one ready for discharge and the other newly admitted, were subjected to RT-qPCR and virus culture. The genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 collected from the air and isolated in cell culture were sequenced.
Results: Viable SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from air samples collected 2 to 4.8 m away from the patients. The genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 strain isolated from the material collected by the air samplers was identical to that isolated from the newly admitted patient. Estimates of viable viral concentrations ranged from 6 to 74 TCID50 units/L of air.
Conclusions: Patients with respiratory manifestations of COVID-19 produce aerosols in the absence of aerosol-generating procedures that contain viable SARS-CoV-2, and these aerosols may serve as a source of transmission of the virus.
https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(20)30739-6/fulltext
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Highlights
• Viable (infectious) SARS-CoV-2 was present in aerosols within the hospital room of COVID-19 patients.
• Airborne virus was detected in the absence of healthcare aerosol-generating procedures.
• The virus strain detected in the aerosols matched with the virus strain isolated from a patient with acute COVID-19.
Article history:
Received 4 August 2020
Received in revised form 3 September 2020
Accepted 11 September 2020
Published 1 November 2020