Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 Oct 9;14(10):e0008570. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008570. eCollection 2020 Oct.
Little is known about the SARS-CoV-2 contamination of environmental surfaces and air in non-health care settings among COVID-19 cases. We explored the SARS-CoV-2 contamination of environmental surfaces and air by collecting air and swabbing environmental surfaces among 39 COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou, China. The specimens were tested on RT-PCR. The information collected for COVID-19 cases included basic demographic, clinical severity, symptoms at onset, radiological testing, laboratory testing and hospital admission. A total of 641 environmental surfaces and air specimens were collected among 39 COVID-19 cases before disinfection. Among them, 20 specimens (20/641, 3.1%) were tested positive from 9 COVID-19 cases (9/39, 23.1%), with 5 (5/101, 5.0%) positive specimens from 3 asymptomatic cases, 5 (5/220, 2.3%) from 3 mild cases, and 10 (10/374, 2.7%) from 3 moderate cases. All positive specimens were collected within 3 days after diagnosis, and 10 (10/42, 23.8%) were found in toilet (5 on toilet bowl, 4 on sink/faucet/shower, 1 on floor drain), 4 (4/21, 19.0%) in anteroom (2 on water dispenser/cup/bottle, 1 on chair/table, 1 on TV remote), 1 (1/8, 12.5%) in kitchen (1 on dining-table), 1 (1/18, 5.6%) in bedroom (1 on bed/sheet pillow/bedside table), 1 (1/5, 20.0%) in car (1 on steering wheel/seat/handlebar) and 3 (3/20, 21.4%) on door knobs. Air specimens in room (0/10, 0.0%) and car (0/1, 0.0%) were all negative. SARS-CoV-2 was found on environmental surfaces especially in toilet, and may survive for several days. We provided evidence of potential for SARS-CoV-2 transmission through contamination of environmental surfaces.
关于 COVID-19 病例在非医疗环境中环境表面和空气中的 SARS-CoV-2 污染情况知之甚少。我们通过收集中国广州 39 例 COVID-19 病例的空气和擦拭环境表面，探索了 SARS-CoV-2 对环境表面和空气的污染情况。这些标本通过 RT-PCR 进行了检测。为 COVID-19 病例收集的信息包括基本人口统计学、临床严重程度、发病时的症状、影像学检查、实验室检查和住院情况。在对环境进行消毒之前，我们共从 39 例 COVID-19 病例中采集了 641 个环境表面和空气标本。其中，从 9 例 COVID-19 病例（23.1%）的 20 个标本（20/641，3.1%）中检测到阳性，其中 5 例（5/101，5.0%）来自 3 例无症状病例，5 例（5/220，2.3%）来自 3 例轻症病例，10 例（10/374，2.7%）来自 3 例中度病例。所有阳性标本均在诊断后 3 天内采集，其中 10 例（10/42，23.8%）在厕所（5 例在马桶上，4 例在水槽/水龙头/淋浴间，1 例在地漏），4 例（4/21，19.0%）在前厅（2 例在饮水机/杯/瓶，1 例在椅子/桌子，1 例在电视遥控器），1 例（1/8，12.5%）在厨房（1 例在餐桌），1 例（1/18，5.6%）在卧室（1 例在床/床单/枕头/床头柜），1 例（1/5，20.0%）在汽车（1 例在方向盘/座椅/把手），3 例（3/20，21.4%）在门把手。房间（0/10，0.0%）和汽车（0/1，0.0%）的空气标本均为阴性。SARS-CoV-2 存在于环境表面，尤其是在厕所中，可能存活数天。我们提供了通过环境表面污染传播 SARS-CoV-2 的潜在证据。
