Vass William B, Lednicky John A, Shankar Sripriya Nannu, Fan Z Hugh, Eiguren-Fernandez Arantzazu, Wu Chang-Yu
Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Department of Environmental and Global Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
J Aerosol Sci. 2022 Sep;165:106038. doi: 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2022.106038. Epub 2022 Jun 22.
The B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of SARS-CoV-2 emerged in India in October of 2020 and spread widely to over 145 countries, comprising over 99% of genome sequence-confirmed virus in COVID-19 cases of the United States (US) by September 2021. The rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant coincided with a return to in-person school attendance, straining COVID-19 mitigation plans implemented by educational institutions. Some plans required sick students to self-isolate off-campus, resulting in an unintended consequence: exposure of co-inhabitants of dwellings used by the sick person during isolation. We assessed air and surface samples collected from the bedroom of a self-isolating university student with mild COVID-19 for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. That virus' RNA was detected by real-time reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (rRT-qPCR) in air samples from both an isolation bedroom and a distal, non-isolation room of the same dwelling. SARS-CoV-2 was detected and viable virus was isolated in cell cultures from aerosol samples as well as from the surface of a mobile phone. Genomic sequencing revealed that the virus was a Delta variant SARS-CoV-2 strain. Taken together, the results of this work confirm the presence of viable SARS-CoV-2 within a residential living space of a person with COVID-19 and show potential for transportation of virus-laden aerosols beyond a designated isolation suite to other areas of a single-family home.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）的B.1.617.2（德尔塔）变种于2020年10月在印度出现，并广泛传播至145多个国家，到2021年9月，在美国新冠肺炎病例中，经基因组序列确认的病毒中该变种占比超过99%。因德尔塔变种导致的新冠肺炎病例增加，恰逢学校恢复面对面授课，给教育机构实施的新冠疫情缓解计划带来压力。一些计划要求患病学生在校外自行隔离，这产生了一个意外后果：患病学生隔离期间所居住房屋的同住者被感染。我们评估了从一名患有轻度新冠肺炎的自行隔离大学生卧室采集的空气和表面样本中是否存在SARS-CoV-2。通过实时逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（rRT-qPCR）在同一住所隔离卧室和远处非隔离房间的空气样本中检测到了该病毒的RNA。在气溶胶样本以及手机表面的细胞培养物中检测到了SARS-CoV-2，并分离出了活病毒。基因组测序显示，该病毒为德尔塔变种SARS-CoV-2毒株。综合来看，这项工作的结果证实了新冠肺炎患者居住空间内存在活的SARS-CoV-2，并表明携带病毒的气溶胶有可能从指定的隔离套房传播到独栋房屋的其他区域。
