Positive no-touch surfaces and undetectable SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in long-term care facilities: An attempt to understand the contributing factors and the importance of timing in air sampling campaigns

Auteurs

Nathan Dumont-Leblond, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Marc Veillette, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Luc Bhérer, Centre Intégré Universitaire en Santé et sServices Sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Karine Boissoneault, Centre Intégré Universitaire en Santé et sServices Sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Samira Mubareka, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
Lily Yip, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, ON, Canada
Marie-Eve Dubuis, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Yves Longtin, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada, Lady Davis Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada
Philippe Jouvet, Université de Montréal, St. Justine Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Montreal, QC, Canada
Alison McGeer, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Caroline Duchaine, Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada, Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-informatique, faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada, Canada Research Chair on Bioaerosols, Quebec city, QC, Canada

Type de document

Études primaires

Année de publication

2021

Langue

Anglais

Titre de la revue

American Journal of Infection Control

Première page

701

Dernière page

706

Résumé

Background: Long-term care facilities (LTCF) are environments particularly favorable to coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic outbreaks, due to the at-risk population they welcome and the close proximity of residents. Yet, the transmission dynamics of the disease in these establishments remain unclear.

Methods: Air and no-touch surfaces of 31 rooms from 7 LTCFs were sampled and SARS-CoV-2 was quantified by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Results: Air samples were negative but viral genomes were recovered from 20 of 62 surface samples at concentrations ranging from 13 to 36,612 genomes/surface. Virus isolation (culture) from surface samples (n = 7) was negative.

Conclusions: The presence of viral RNA on no-touch surfaces is evidence of viral dissemination through air, but the lack of airborne viral particles in air samples suggests that they were not aerosolized in a significant manner during air sampling sessions. The air samples were collected 8 to 30 days after the residents’ symptom onset, which could indicate that viruses are aerosolized early in the infection process. Additional research is needed to evaluate viral viability conservation and the potential role of direct contact and aerosols in SARS-CoV-2 transmission in these institutions. © 2021 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.

Mots-clés

Aérosol, Aerosol, COVID-19, Échantillonnage dans l'air, Air sampling, Service de santé, Health service

Numéro de projet IRSST

2017-0004

Citation recommandée

Dumont-Leblond, N., Veillette, M., Bhérer, L., Boissoneault, K., Mubareka, S., Yip, L., . . . Duchaine, C. (2021). Positive no-touch surfaces and undetectable SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in long-term care facilities: An attempt to understand the contributing factors and the importance of timing in air sampling campaigns. American Journal of Infection Control, 49(6), 701-706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2021.02.004