Abstract

The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019, and its resulting coronavirus disease, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The rapid global spread of COVID-19 represents perhaps the most significant public health emergency in a century. As the pandemic progressed, a continued paucity of evidence on routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission has resulted in shifting infection prevention and control guidelines between classically-defined airborne and droplet precautions. During the initial isolation of 13 individuals with COVID-19 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, we collected air and surface samples to examine viral shedding from isolated individuals. We detected viral contamination among all samples, supporting the use of airborne isolation precautions when caring for COVID-19 patients.

Details

Title
Aerosol and surface contamination of SARS-CoV-2 observed in quarantine and isolation care
Author
Santarpia, Joshua L 1 ; Rivera, Danielle N 2 ; Herrera, Vicki L 3 ; Jane, Morwitzer M 3 ; Creager, Hannah M 3 ; Santarpia, George W 3 ; Crown, Kevin K 2 ; Brett-Major, David M 3 ; Schnaubelt, Elizabeth R 4 ; Jana, Broadhurst M 3 ; Lawler, James V 1 ; Reid St Patrick 3 ; Lowe, John J 1 

 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA (GRID:grid.266813.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0666 4105); National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, USA (GRID:grid.266815.e) (ISNI:0000 0001 0775 5412) 
 National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, USA (GRID:grid.266815.e) (ISNI:0000 0001 0775 5412) 
 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA (GRID:grid.266813.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0666 4105) 
 University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, USA (GRID:grid.266813.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0666 4105); United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, San Antonio, USA (GRID:grid.453002.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2331 3497) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2428279338
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.