Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities

Amir Ben-Shmuel; Tal Brosh-Nissimov; Itai Glinert; Elad Bar-David; Assa Sittner; Reut Poni; Regev Cohen; Hagit Achdout; Hadas Tamir; Yfat Yahalom-Ronen; Boaz Politi; Sharon Melamed; Einat Vitner; Lilach Cherry; Ofir Israeli; Adi Beth-Din; Nir Paran; Tomer Israely; Shmuel Yitzhaki; Haim Levy; Shay Weiss

doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities

Amir Ben-Shmuel, Tal Brosh-Nissimov, Itai Glinert, Elad Bar-David, Assa Sittner, Reut Poni, Regev Cohen, Hagit Achdout, Hadas Tamir, Yfat Yahalom-Ronen, Boaz Politi, Sharon Melamed, Einat Vitner, Lilach Cherry, Ofir Israeli, Adi Beth-Din, Nir Paran, Tomer Israely, Shmuel Yitzhaki, Haim LevyShay Weiss

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Environmental surfaces have been suggested as likely contributors in the transmission of COVID-19. This study assessed the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contaminating surfaces and objects in two hospital isolation units and a quarantine hotel. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 virus stability and infectivity on non-porous surfaces was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Surface and air sampling were conducted at two COVID-19 isolation units and in a quarantine hotel. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR and infectivity was assessed by VERO E6 CPE test. Results: In laboratory-controlled conditions, SARS-CoV-2 gradually lost its infectivity completely by day 4 at ambient temperature, and the decay rate of viral viability on surfaces directly correlated with increase in temperature. Viral RNA was detected in 29/55 surface samples (52.7%) and 16/42 surface samples (38%) from the surroundings of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in isolation units of two hospitals and in a quarantine hotel for asymptomatic and very mild COVID-19 patients. None of the surface and air samples from the three sites (0/97) were found to contain infectious titres of SARS-Cov-2 on tissue culture assay. Conclusions: Despite prolonged viability of SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory-controlled conditions, uncultivable viral contamination of inanimate surfaces might suggest low feasibility for indirect fomite transmission.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1658-1662
Number of pages	5
Journal	Clinical Microbiology and Infection
Volume	26
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004
State	Published - 1 Dec 2020

Keywords

COVID-19
Contamination
Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2
Surface
Viability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology (medical)
Infectious Diseases

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

Cite this

Ben-Shmuel, A., Brosh-Nissimov, T., Glinert, I., Bar-David, E., Sittner, A., Poni, R., Cohen, R., Achdout, H., Tamir, H., Yahalom-Ronen, Y., Politi, B., Melamed, S., Vitner, E., Cherry, L., Israeli, O., Beth-Din, A., Paran, N., Israely, T., Yitzhaki, S., ... Weiss, S. (2020). Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 26(12), 1658-1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

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title = "Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities",

abstract = "Objectives: Environmental surfaces have been suggested as likely contributors in the transmission of COVID-19. This study assessed the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contaminating surfaces and objects in two hospital isolation units and a quarantine hotel. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 virus stability and infectivity on non-porous surfaces was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Surface and air sampling were conducted at two COVID-19 isolation units and in a quarantine hotel. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR and infectivity was assessed by VERO E6 CPE test. Results: In laboratory-controlled conditions, SARS-CoV-2 gradually lost its infectivity completely by day 4 at ambient temperature, and the decay rate of viral viability on surfaces directly correlated with increase in temperature. Viral RNA was detected in 29/55 surface samples (52.7%) and 16/42 surface samples (38%) from the surroundings of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in isolation units of two hospitals and in a quarantine hotel for asymptomatic and very mild COVID-19 patients. None of the surface and air samples from the three sites (0/97) were found to contain infectious titres of SARS-Cov-2 on tissue culture assay. Conclusions: Despite prolonged viability of SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory-controlled conditions, uncultivable viral contamination of inanimate surfaces might suggest low feasibility for indirect fomite transmission.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Contamination, Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, Surface, Viability",

author = "Amir Ben-Shmuel and Tal Brosh-Nissimov and Itai Glinert and Elad Bar-David and Assa Sittner and Reut Poni and Regev Cohen and Hagit Achdout and Hadas Tamir and Yfat Yahalom-Ronen and Boaz Politi and Sharon Melamed and Einat Vitner and Lilach Cherry and Ofir Israeli and Adi Beth-Din and Nir Paran and Tomer Israely and Shmuel Yitzhaki and Haim Levy and Shay Weiss",

note = "Funding Information: SARS-CoV-2 strain MUC-IMB-1 was kindly provided by Dr R. Ehmann and Dr G. Dobbler from the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Germany. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Author(s)",

year = "2020",

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doi = "10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004",

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Ben-Shmuel, A, Brosh-Nissimov, T, Glinert, I, Bar-David, E, Sittner, A, Poni, R, Cohen, R, Achdout, H, Tamir, H, Yahalom-Ronen, Y, Politi, B, Melamed, S, Vitner, E, Cherry, L, Israeli, O, Beth-Din, A, Paran, N, Israely, T, Yitzhaki, S, Levy, H & Weiss, S 2020, 'Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities', Clinical Microbiology and Infection, vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 1658-1662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities. / Ben-Shmuel, Amir; Brosh-Nissimov, Tal; Glinert, Itai et al.
In: Clinical Microbiology and Infection, Vol. 26, No. 12, 01.12.2020, p. 1658-1662.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities

AU - Ben-Shmuel, Amir

AU - Brosh-Nissimov, Tal

AU - Glinert, Itai

AU - Bar-David, Elad

AU - Sittner, Assa

AU - Poni, Reut

AU - Cohen, Regev

AU - Achdout, Hagit

AU - Tamir, Hadas

AU - Yahalom-Ronen, Yfat

AU - Politi, Boaz

AU - Melamed, Sharon

AU - Vitner, Einat

AU - Cherry, Lilach

AU - Israeli, Ofir

AU - Beth-Din, Adi

AU - Paran, Nir

AU - Israely, Tomer

AU - Yitzhaki, Shmuel

AU - Levy, Haim

AU - Weiss, Shay

N1 - Funding Information: SARS-CoV-2 strain MUC-IMB-1 was kindly provided by Dr R. Ehmann and Dr G. Dobbler from the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Germany. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - Objectives: Environmental surfaces have been suggested as likely contributors in the transmission of COVID-19. This study assessed the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contaminating surfaces and objects in two hospital isolation units and a quarantine hotel. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 virus stability and infectivity on non-porous surfaces was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Surface and air sampling were conducted at two COVID-19 isolation units and in a quarantine hotel. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR and infectivity was assessed by VERO E6 CPE test. Results: In laboratory-controlled conditions, SARS-CoV-2 gradually lost its infectivity completely by day 4 at ambient temperature, and the decay rate of viral viability on surfaces directly correlated with increase in temperature. Viral RNA was detected in 29/55 surface samples (52.7%) and 16/42 surface samples (38%) from the surroundings of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in isolation units of two hospitals and in a quarantine hotel for asymptomatic and very mild COVID-19 patients. None of the surface and air samples from the three sites (0/97) were found to contain infectious titres of SARS-Cov-2 on tissue culture assay. Conclusions: Despite prolonged viability of SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory-controlled conditions, uncultivable viral contamination of inanimate surfaces might suggest low feasibility for indirect fomite transmission.

AB - Objectives: Environmental surfaces have been suggested as likely contributors in the transmission of COVID-19. This study assessed the infectivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contaminating surfaces and objects in two hospital isolation units and a quarantine hotel. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 virus stability and infectivity on non-porous surfaces was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Surface and air sampling were conducted at two COVID-19 isolation units and in a quarantine hotel. Viral RNA was detected by RT-PCR and infectivity was assessed by VERO E6 CPE test. Results: In laboratory-controlled conditions, SARS-CoV-2 gradually lost its infectivity completely by day 4 at ambient temperature, and the decay rate of viral viability on surfaces directly correlated with increase in temperature. Viral RNA was detected in 29/55 surface samples (52.7%) and 16/42 surface samples (38%) from the surroundings of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in isolation units of two hospitals and in a quarantine hotel for asymptomatic and very mild COVID-19 patients. None of the surface and air samples from the three sites (0/97) were found to contain infectious titres of SARS-Cov-2 on tissue culture assay. Conclusions: Despite prolonged viability of SARS-CoV-2 under laboratory-controlled conditions, uncultivable viral contamination of inanimate surfaces might suggest low feasibility for indirect fomite transmission.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Contamination

KW - Coronavirus

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - Surface

KW - Viability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092010896&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

DO - 10.1016/j.cmi.2020.09.004

M3 - Article

C2 - 32919072

AN - SCOPUS:85092010896

SN - 1198-743X

VL - 26

SP - 1658

EP - 1662

JO - Clinical Microbiology and Infection

JF - Clinical Microbiology and Infection

IS - 12

ER -

Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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