1School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo - Ecuador, Samborondón, Ecuador.
2Community Center, The Atahualpa Project, Atahualpa, Ecuador.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Jan 13;104(3):1045-1047. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1380.
Information about factors potentially favoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in rural settings is limited. Following a case-control study design in a rural Ecuadorian village that was severely struck by the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 RNA were detected by real-time PCR in swabs obtained from inner and upper walls in 24/48 randomly selected latrines from case-houses and in 12/48 flushing toilets from paired control-houses (P = 0.014; McNemar's test). This association persisted in a conditional logistic regression model adjusted for relevant covariates (OR: 4.82; 95% CI: 1.38-16.8; P = 0.014). In addition, SARS-CoV-2-seropositive subjects were more often identified among those living in houses with a latrine (P = 0.002). Latrines have almost five times the odds of containing SARS-CoV-2 RNA than their paired flushing toilets. Latrines are reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and it cannot be ruled out that latrines could contribute to viral transmission in rural settings. Frequent disinfection of latrines should be recommended to reduce the likelihood of fecal contamination.
有关有利于 SARS-CoV-2 在农村地区传播的因素的信息有限。在厄瓜多尔一个农村村庄进行了一项病例对照研究设计，该村庄受到大流行的严重打击，通过实时 PCR 在从病例房屋中随机选择的 24/48 个内部和上部墙壁的拭子以及从配对对照房屋的 12/48 个冲洗厕所中检测到 SARS-CoV-2 RNA（P = 0.014；McNemar 检验）。在调整了相关协变量的条件逻辑回归模型中，这种关联仍然存在（OR：4.82；95％CI：1.38-16.8；P = 0.014）。此外，在那些居住在有厕所的房屋中的人中，更常发现 SARS-CoV-2 血清阳性者（P = 0.002）。厕所含有 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的可能性几乎是配对冲洗厕所的五倍。厕所是 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的储库，不能排除厕所可能有助于农村地区的病毒传播。应建议经常对厕所进行消毒，以减少粪便污染的可能性。
