Confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 airborne dissemination indoors using "COVID-19 traps"

Abstract

Understanding the capacity of SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect by surfaces and by airborne dissemination has become in one of the most important issues in the world nowadays. Thus, the aim of this study was to confirm aerosol dissemination from patients with coronavirus infection using “COVID-19 traps” that included different untouched surfaces within them. In a previous study, we evaluated the presence of the virus and its stability in 6 different surfaces placed in the rooms of 6 patients with a positive diagnostic of COVID-19. For that, we performed a case series study with 180 samples collected from the surfaces included into the “COVID-19 traps” located in the rooms of patients in a COVID-19 ward unit (CWU) at a Spanish referral hospital at 24, 48 and 72 h. RNA was extracted from the surfaces with a swab and subsequently analyzed with RT-PCR to evaluate the presence of the virus and its stability. Positives were found in almost all the rooms and at all analyzed times. Surfaces could not be touched by patients or health workers, so viral spreading was unequivocally produced by airborne. In addition, ROC curves were performed to corroborate that airborne dissemination was directly associated with patients’ viral load. Thus, aerosol dissemination and patients’ viral load were confirmed as key parameters for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our results point the importance of SARS-CoV-2 virus airborne dissemination indoors and may shed some light in this debate.