Viable #SARS-CoV-2 detected in the air of hospital rooms of #COVID-19 patients with early infection - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
▻https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(22)00589-6/abstract
Results
The nasopharyngeal swab samples of 18 patients were positive for viable SARS-CoV-2 (median concentration: 4.0×105 TCID50/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 TCID50/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 = 0.027).
Conclusions
Viable SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in the air surrounding patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection. Healthcare workers should pay attention to infection control when caring for patients with early SARS-CoV-2 infection.