Going Airborne Accelerates COVID-19 Transmission

Surveillance of COVID-19 in the air will be an effective means to measure the infection potential in closed spaces such as classrooms and meeting halls, suggest researchers in a study published in the Journal of Aerosol Science.

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Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

‘The positivity rate of finding COVID-19 virus in the air was 75% when two or more COVID - 19 patients were present in a room, in contrast to 15.8% when one or no COVID -19 patients occupied the room.’

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As India witnesses an uptick in fresh Covid-19 cases, researchers suggest that containment measures can be confined to these smaller spots instead of implementing city or residential area-wide restrictions.

The exact mechanism of the spread of COVID-19 has remained elusive. Earlier it was thought to spread by surfaces. However, quantitative evidence that shows the infectious COVID-19 virus particles in the air was lacking.

A group of scientists analyzed the COVID-19 virus genome content from air samples collected from different areas occupied by affected patients. These included hospitals, closed rooms in which only spent a short period, and houses of home-quarantined patients.

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They found that the virus could be frequently detected in the air around COVID-19 patients and that the positivity rate increased with the number of patients present on the premises.

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They found the virus in ICU as well as non-ICU sections of hospitals, suggesting that patients shed the virus in the air irrespective of the severity of infection. The study also found viable coronavirus in the air that could infect living cells, and these viruses could spread over a long range of distances .

“Our results show that coronavirus can stay in the air for some time in absence of ventilation in closed spaces,” said Dr. Shivranjani Moharir, a scientist involved in the study.

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Our observations are concurrent with previous studies that suggest that the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is higher in indoor air as compared to outdoor air; and in indoor, it is higher in hospital and healthcare settings that host a larger number of Covid-19 patients, as compared to that in community indoor settings.

As we are back to conducting in-person activities, air surveillance is a useful means to predict the infection potential of spaces like classrooms, and meeting halls. This can help refine strategies to control the spread of infections.

The air surveillance technique is not just limited to coronavirus but can also be applied to monitor other air-borne infections. Last but not least, continue wearing a mask to avoid COVID-19 infections.

Source-Medindia