Laboratory of Cell Engineering, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie Road, Beijing 100071, China.
Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, 666 Liuying West Road, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2020 Oct 30;48(5):2307-2316. doi: 10.1042/BST20200693.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by a novel virus of the β-coronavirus genus (SARS-CoV-2), has been spreading globally. As of July 2020, there have been more than 17 million cases worldwide. Determining multiple transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 is critical to improving safety practices for the public and stemming the spread of SARS-CoV-2 effectively. This article mainly focuses on published studies on the transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 including contact transmission, droplet transmission, aerosol transmission and fecal-oral transmission, as well as related research approaches, such as epidemiological investigations, environmental sampling in hospitals and laboratories and animal models. We also provide four specific recommendations for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 that may help reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection under different environmental conditions. First, social distancing, rational use of face masks and respirators, eye protection, and hand disinfection for medical staff and the general public deserve further attention and promotion. Second, aerodynamic characteristics, such as size distribution, release regularity, aerosol diffusion, survival and decline, infectious dose and spread distance, still require further investigation in order to identify the transmissibility of COVID-19. Third, background monitoring of the distribution of pathogenic microorganisms and environmental disinfection in crowded public places, such as railway stations, schools, hospitals and other densely populated areas, can give early warning of outbreaks and curb the transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 in those high-risk areas. Forth, establishing novel predictive models can help us to not only assess transmission and impacts in communities, but also better implement corresponding emergency response measures.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）引起的，该病毒属于β冠状病毒属，目前已在全球范围内传播。截至 2020 年 7 月，全球已报告超过 1700 万例病例。确定 SARS-CoV-2 的多种传播途径对于改善公众安全措施和有效遏制 SARS-CoV-2 的传播至关重要。本文主要关注已发表的关于 SARS-CoV-2 传播途径的研究，包括接触传播、飞沫传播、气溶胶传播和粪-口传播，以及相关的研究方法，如流行病学调查、医院和实验室的环境采样以及动物模型。我们还提供了针对 SARS-CoV-2 的预防和控制的四项具体建议，这些建议可能有助于在不同的环境条件下降低 SARS-CoV-2 感染的风险。首先，社会隔离、医护人员和公众合理使用口罩和呼吸器、眼部保护和手部消毒需要进一步关注和推广。其次，气溶胶的动力学特性，如大小分布、释放规律、气溶胶扩散、存活和衰减、感染剂量和传播距离等，仍需要进一步研究，以确定 COVID-19 的传染性。第三，对人群密集场所（如火车站、学校、医院等）的致病微生物分布和环境消毒进行背景监测，可以对疫情爆发进行预警，并在这些高风险地区阻断 SARS-CoV-2 的传播途径。第四，建立新的预测模型不仅有助于我们评估社区中的传播和影响，还有助于更好地实施相应的应急响应措施。
