Assessing Air Contamination Of COVID-19 In Hospitals

A systematic review was conducted by researchers to determine the level of contamination from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in different hospital areas and the factors that were associated with contamination like viral load and particle size.

The study conducted by Gabriel Birgand, Ph.D., of the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Nantes in France is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

COVID-19 Puts Man Into Deep Coma, Recovers In 7 Days
A 55-year-old man, with co-morbidities, had contracted COVID-19 with mild symptoms and had gone into coma. However, with a treatment through immunotherapy and steroids, he regained consciousness within 7 days.

‘In hospital settings staff areas, public areas, toilets and bathrooms, staff areas and public areas showed high viral loads however, only a few samples were capable of causing infections. In rooms with low ventilation and isolation wards, aerosols of COVID-19 were detected.’
Read More..

Tweet it Now

The air samples were collected from 5 classes of the hospital areas: close patient environments like patient rooms or bays, toilet or bathroom, clinical areas like workstations, anterooms or buffer rooms, corridors, and other spaces in the clinical unit, staff areas like changing rooms, staff rooms including office, meeting rooms, dining rooms, and other staff areas, public areas like hallways and other indoor and outdoor public areas.

It was found that the air close to and distant from patients with COVID-19 was frequently contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, only a few of these samples contained viable viruses that were capable of causing infection.

High viral loads were found in toilets and bathrooms, staff areas, and public hallways.

How Long Do COVID-19 Antibodies Last?
The studies conducted in UK, Australia, and South Korea show that the COVID-19 antibodies last for 6-8 months hence protecting the patients from reinfection.

Patient rooms and PPE removal rooms had high concentrations per titer of SARS-CoV-2. The rooms receiving low ventilation like toilet and staff rooms and in isolation wards, aerosols of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were detected.

Preventive measures are required to avoid COVID-19 transmission in high viral load rooms like toilets and/or bathrooms, staff areas and public hallways.

Proportion of Antibodies Affect COVID-19 Severity
New links between the course of the disease and a patient's immune response is identified in the study. This could raise concerns if people can be re-infected and if antibody tests to diagnose prior infection.

Source-Medindia

Can Dental Procedures be Made Safer During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Since the onset of COVID-19, the potential risk of dental procedure spray emissions for SARS-CoV-2 transmission has challenged care providers and policymakers alike. But a new study finds that a novel mechanism to control dental procedure spray emissions.