Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran; Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Dec 15;748:141324. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141324. Epub 2020 Jul 29.
On December 31, 2019, the novel human coronavirus (COVID-19) was identified in Wuhan, China and swiftly spread in all nations and territories around the globe. There is much debate about the major route of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmissions. So, more evidence is required to determine the potential pathway of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 including airborne transmission. Therefore, we examined the potential aerosol transmission of the virus through hospital wards indoor air by confirmed COVID-19 patients on May 7, 2020. In order to capture airborne SARS-CoV-2, the liquid impinger biosampler was used to take fourteen air samples in different wards of the indoor air of the hospital. The specific primer and probe real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were applied to detect viral genomes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in positive air samples. Accordingly, we found two positive air samples (in the ICU) out of 14 ones taken from different wards with confirmed COVID-19 patients. The results revealed the possibility of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 though more studies are required to determine the role of actual mechanisms such as cough, sneeze, normal breathing and speaking in the emission of airborne size carrier aerosols. Likewise, more quantitative analyses are needed to estimate airborne viability of SARS-CoV-2 in the carrier aerosols.
2019 年 12 月 31 日，在中国武汉发现了新型人类冠状病毒（COVID-19），该病毒迅速在全球各国和地区传播。关于严重急性呼吸系统综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）的主要传播途径存在很多争议。因此，需要更多的证据来确定 SARS-CoV-2 的潜在传播途径，包括空气传播。因此，我们于 2020 年 5 月 7 日检查了 COVID-19 确诊患者通过医院病房室内空气传播病毒的潜在气溶胶传播。为了捕获空气中的 SARS-CoV-2，使用液体撞击式生物采样器在医院室内空气的不同病房中采集了 14 个空气样本。应用特定的引物和探针实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测阳性空气样本中的 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的基因组。相应地，我们在从有确诊 COVID-19 患者的不同病房采集的 14 个样本中发现了两个阳性空气样本（在 ICU 中）。结果表明 SARS-CoV-2 存在空气传播的可能性，但需要更多的研究来确定咳嗽、打喷嚏、正常呼吸和说话等实际机制在空气中携带气溶胶的排放中的作用。同样，需要更多的定量分析来估计 SARS-CoV-2 在携带气溶胶中的空气存活能力。
