Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Microbiol Spectr. 2022 Oct 26;10(5):e0186222. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01862-22. Epub 2022 Sep 7.
In 2020 and 2021, many meat processing plants faced temporary closures due to outbreaks of COVID-19 cases among the workers. There are several factors that could potentially contribute to the increased numbers of COVID-19 cases in meat processing plants: the survival of viable SARS-CoV-2 on meat and meat packaging materials, difficulties in maintaining workplace physical distancing, personal hygiene, and crowded living and transportation conditions. In this study, we used murine hepatitis virus (MHV) as a biosafety level 2 (BSL2) surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 to determine viral survival on the surface of meat, namely, stew-cut beef and ground beef, and commonly used meat packaging materials, such as plastic wrap, meat-absorbent material, and Styrofoam. From our studies, we observed the infectivity of MHV inoculated on ground beef and stew-cut beef for 48 h and saw no significant loss in infectivity for MHV from 0 to 6 h postinoculation (hpi) (unpaired test). However, beginning at 9 hpi, viral infectivity steadily decreased, resulting in a 1.12-log reduction for ground beef and a 0.46-log reduction for stew-cut beef by 48 hpi. We also observed a significant persistence of MHV on meat packaging materials, with Styrofoam supporting the highest viability (3.25 × 10 ± 9.57 × 10 PFU/mL, a 0.91-log reduction after 48 hpi), followed by meat-absorbent material (75 ± 50 PFU/mL, a 1.10-log reduction after 48 hpi), and lastly, plastic wrap (no detectable PFU after 3 hpi, a 3.12-log reduction). Despite a notable reduction in infectivity, the virus was able to survive and remain infectious for up to 48 h at 7°C on four of the five test surfaces. Our results provide evidence that coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, could potentially survive on meat, meat-absorbent materials. and Styrofoam for up to 2 days, and potentially longer. The meat industry has been faced with astronomical challenges with the rampant spread of COVID-19 among meat processing plant workers. This has resulted in meat processing and packaging plant closures, creating bottlenecks everywhere in the chain, from farms to consumers, subsequently leading to much smaller production outputs and higher prices for all parties involved. This study tested the viability of meat and meat packaging materials as potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2, allowing the virus to survive and potentially spread among the workers. We used murine hepatitis virus (MHV) as a biosafety level 2 (BSL2) surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Our results suggest that ground beef, stew-cut beef, meat-absorbent material, and Styrofoam can harbor coronavirus particles, which can remain viable for at least 48 h. Furthermore, our study provides evidence that the environmental and physical conditions within meat processing facilities can facilitate the survival of viable virus.
在 2020 年和 2021 年，由于工人中爆发了 COVID-19 病例，许多肉类加工厂面临临时关闭。有几个因素可能导致肉类加工厂 COVID-19 病例的增加：存活的 SARS-CoV-2 在肉和肉包装材料上、在工作场所保持身体距离、个人卫生、以及拥挤的生活和运输条件方面的困难。在这项研究中，我们使用鼠肝炎病毒 (MHV) 作为 SARS-CoV-2 的生物安全 2 级 (BSL2) 替代品，以确定病毒在肉表面的存活情况，即炖牛肉和绞碎牛肉以及常用的肉包装材料，如塑料包装、肉吸收材料和泡沫塑料。从我们的研究中，我们观察到 MHV 接种在绞碎牛肉和炖牛肉上 48 小时后的感染性，并且在接种后 0 至 6 小时（未配对检验）内未观察到 MHV 感染性显著丧失。然而，从 9 小时开始，病毒感染性稳步下降，导致 48 小时时绞碎牛肉的病毒感染力下降 1.12 对数，炖牛肉的病毒感染力下降 0.46 对数。我们还观察到 MHV 在肉包装材料上的显著持续存在，其中泡沫塑料支持最高的存活率（3.25×10±9.57×10 PFU/mL，48 小时后下降 0.91 对数），其次是肉吸收材料（75±50 PFU/mL，48 小时后下降 1.10 对数），最后是塑料包装（3 小时后未检测到 PFU，下降 3.12 对数）。尽管感染性明显降低，但病毒仍能在五种测试表面中的四种上在 7°C 下存活并保持感染性长达 48 小时。我们的研究结果表明，SARS-CoV-2 等冠状病毒可能在肉、肉吸收材料和泡沫塑料上存活长达 2 天，甚至更长时间。 肉类行业在肉类加工厂工人中 COVID-19 猖獗传播的情况下面临着巨大的挑战。这导致了肉类加工和包装厂的关闭，导致从农场到消费者的供应链各个环节都出现了瓶颈，从而导致所有相关方的产量大幅下降，价格上涨。本研究测试了肉和肉包装材料作为 SARS-CoV-2 潜在储存库的存活能力，使病毒能够在工人中存活并可能传播。我们使用鼠肝炎病毒 (MHV) 作为 SARS-CoV-2 的生物安全 2 级 (BSL2) 替代品。我们的研究结果表明，绞碎牛肉、炖牛肉、肉吸收材料和泡沫塑料可以携带冠状病毒颗粒，这些颗粒至少可以存活 48 小时。此外，我们的研究提供了证据表明，肉类加工设施内的环境和物理条件可以促进存活病毒的生存。
