ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Porto University, Porto, Portugal.
Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIunit), Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Food Environ Virol. 2024 Nov 30;17(1):4. doi: 10.1007/s12560-024-09615-1.
As SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve and herd immunity establishes, an increasing number of asymptomatic infections have been reported, increasing the risk of airborne spread of the virus. Most of the studies regarding SARS-CoV-2 RNA presence in air refer to indoor environments, with few studies having reported SARS-CoV-2 RNA in outdoor air. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at two different settings, crowded outdoor versus empty outdoor environments in Valladolid, Spain, during winter 2021. Using a Coriolis® air sampler, samples were taken from nine different locations within the city center. RNA extraction and a one-step RT-qPCR were carried out. Six out of the 20 air samples were found to be positive, and they were all obtained from crowded outdoor environments. These results highlight that although in less quantity, SARS-CoV-2 RNA is still present in outdoor air, especially at moments of relaxed mitigation efforts and depending on the number of people present.
随着 SARS-CoV-2 的持续进化和群体免疫的建立，越来越多的无症状感染被报告，增加了病毒通过空气传播的风险。大多数关于 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 存在于空气中的研究都涉及室内环境，只有少数研究报告了户外空气中存在 SARS-CoV-2 RNA。本研究旨在评估西班牙巴利亚多利德市冬季 2021 年两个不同环境（拥挤的户外和空旷的户外）中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的存在情况。使用 Coriolis®空气采样器，从市中心的九个不同地点采集样本。进行 RNA 提取和一步 RT-qPCR。在 20 个空气样本中有 6 个呈阳性，并且都来自拥挤的户外环境。这些结果表明，尽管 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的数量较少，但它仍然存在于户外空气中，尤其是在放松缓解措施的时刻，并取决于存在的人数。
