Environmental testing for SARS-CoV-2 in three tertiary-care hospitals during the peak of the third COVID-19 wave - 22/10/21
, Maria Tseroni, RN a, Charalampos Daflos, RN b, Cleo Anastassopoulou, PhD c, Antonios Vasilogiannakopoulos, MD d, Olga Daligarou, RN d, Maria Panagiotou, MD d, Evanthia Botsa, MD e, Nikolaos Spanakis, MD c, Athanasia Lourida, MD f, Athanasios Tsakris, MD c
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Highlights |
• | We tested by PCR for SARS-CoV-2 environmental samples from three hospitals. |
• | Overall, 19 of 463 (4.1%) samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. |
• | Most positive samples (12 of 173; 6.9%) originated from the COVID-19 hospital. |
• | Most positive samples originated from emergency departments (47.3%) and ICUs (26.3%). |
• | The frequency and efficiency of disinfection in high-risk areas should be reinforced. |
Resumen |
Contamination of surfaces has been implicated in transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We tested by real-time PCR for SARS-CoV-2 contamination environmental samples from three hospitals during the peak of the third pandemic wave. Overall, 19 of 463 (4.1%) samples tested positive: 12 of 173 (6.9%) samples from a COVID-19 hospital, 3 of 177 (1.7%) samples from a non-COVID-19 hospital, and 4 of 113 (3.5%) samples from a pediatric hospital with dedicated COVID-19 clinics. Most positive samples originated from emergency departments (EDs) (47.3%) and the intensive care units (ICUs) (26.3%) of the COVID-19 hospital. Positive samples belonged almost exclusively (18/19) to the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 cluster, that might explain environmental contamination at this stage of the pandemic. The frequency and efficiency of disinfection in high-risk patient areas, such as EDs and ICUs, should be reinforced, especially during this period where highly transmissible variants of concern are widespread.
El texto completo de este artículo está disponible en PDF.Key Words : SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Environmental contamination, Hospitals, Fomites, Inanimate surfaces, Disinfection, B.1.1.7
Esquema
| Conflicts of interest: None to report. |
Vol 49 - N° 11
P. 1435-1437 - novembre 2021 Regresar al número
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