SARS-CoV-2 in hospital indoor environments is predominantly non-infectious

Virology Journal

Dario Akaberi¹  Janina Krambrich¹  Jiaxin Ling¹  Tove Hoffman¹  Åke Lundkvist¹  Marie Hagbom²  Lennart Svensson³ 

[1] Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Zoonosis Science Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical Faculty, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden;Division of Molecular Medicine and Virology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical Faculty, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden;Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    RNase A;    Environmental sampling;    In vitro infection;    Viral infectivity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12985-021-01556-6

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has spread rapidly worldwide and disease prevention is more important than ever. In the absence of a vaccine, knowledge of the transmission routes and risk areas of infection remain the most important existing tools to prevent further spread.MethodsHere we investigated the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment at the Uppsala University Hospital Infectious Disease ward by RT-qPCR and determined the infectivity of the detected virus in vitro on Vero E6 cells.ResultsSARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in several areas, although attempts to infect Vero E6 cells with positive samples were unsuccessful. However, RNase A treatment of positive samples prior to RNA extraction did not degrade viral RNA, indicating the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsids or complete virus particles protecting the RNA as opposed to free viral RNA.ConclusionOur results show that even in places where a moderate concentration (Ct values between 30 and 38) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found; no infectious virus could be detected. This suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment subsides in two states; as infectious and as non-infectious. Future work should investigate the reasons for the non-infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 virions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY