Baboli Zeynab, Neisi Niloofar, Babaei Ali Akbar, Ahmadi Mehdi, Sorooshian Armin, Birgani Yaser Tahmasebi, Goudarzi Gholamreza
Student Research Committee, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Air Pollution and Respiratory Diseases Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Atmos Environ (1994). 2021 Sep 15;261:118563. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118563. Epub 2021 Jun 21.
The limited knowledge about the mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is a current challenge on a global scale. Among possible transmission routes, air transfer of the virus is thought to be prominent. To investigate this further, measurements were conducted at Razi hospital in Ahvaz, Iran, which was selected to treat COVID-19 severe cases in the Khuzestan province. Passive and active sampling methods were employed and compared with regard to their efficiency for collection of airborne SARS-COV-2 virus particles. Fifty one indoor air samples were collected in two areas, with distances of less than or equal to 1 m (patient room) and more than 3 m away (hallway and nurse station) from patient beds. A simulation method was used to obtain the virus load released by a regularly breathing or coughing individual including a range of microdroplet emissions. Using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), 11.76% (N = 6) of all indoor air samples (N = 51) collected in the COVID-19 ward tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, including 4 cases in patient rooms and 2 cases in the hallway. Also, 5 of the 6 positive cases were confirmed using active sampling methods with only 1 based on passive sampling. The results support airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 bioaerosols in indoor air. Multivariate analysis showed that among 15 parameters studied, the highest correlations with PCR results were obtained for temperature, relative humidity, PM levels, and presence of an air cleaner.
目前，关于严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）传播机制的认识有限，这是全球范围内面临的一项挑战。在可能的传播途径中，病毒的空气传播被认为是主要途径。为了进一步研究这一问题，在伊朗阿瓦士的拉齐医院进行了测量，该医院被选定为胡齐斯坦省治疗新冠肺炎重症病例的医院。采用了被动和主动采样方法，并比较了它们收集空气中SARS-CoV-2病毒颗粒的效率。在两个区域采集了51份室内空气样本，一个区域距离病床小于或等于1米（病房），另一个区域距离病床超过3米（走廊和护士站）。使用一种模拟方法来获取正常呼吸或咳嗽个体释放的病毒载量，包括一系列微滴排放情况。通过实时逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测，新冠肺炎病房采集的所有室内空气样本（N = 51）中，11.76%（N = 6）的样本SARS-CoV-2病毒检测呈阳性，其中病房有4例，走廊有2例。此外，6例阳性病例中有5例是通过主动采样方法确诊的，只有1例是基于被动采样确诊的。结果支持SARS-CoV-2生物气溶胶在室内空气中的空气传播。多变量分析表明，在所研究的15个参数中，与PCR结果相关性最高的是温度、相对湿度、颗粒物水平和空气净化器的使用情况。
