Scientists noted that the environment was “a potential means of transmission” and that “strict adherence to environmental and hand hygiene measures” was paramount.
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UA study released Wednesday showed that patients with the new coronavirus were widely contaminating their bedrooms and bathrooms, highlighting the need to regularly clean surfaces like sinks and basins.
However, the virus does not survive cleaning the contaminated surfaces with a commonly used disinfectant twice a day, the same analysis concluded, published in the American journal JAMA. The study, conducted by researchers at the National Center for Infectious Diseases in Singapore and the DSO National Laboratories, was initiated after the coronavirus spread to some Chinese hospitals. This pushed scientists to the hypothesis that beyond coughing, environmental contamination was an important factor in the transmission of the disease.
From late January to early February, they examined the rooms of three patients kept in isolation. One of the rooms was tested before its routine cleaning, while the other two were analyzed after disinfection measures.
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The patient whose room was tested before cleaning had a simple cough, while the other two showed more severe symptoms with cough, fever, shortness of breath for one and sputum of pulmonary mucus for the other . Despite his mild symptoms, the first patient had contaminated 13 of the 15 surfaces analyzed by the researchers, including his chair, bed, window and floor.
95,000 people infected
In his toilets, three of the five surfaces tested, including his sink and bowl, showed traces of the virus, suggesting that stool could be a route of transmission. The air samples from his room turned out to be negative, but those taken from his air vents returned positive, showing that the contaminated droplets could be carried by the air streams. However, the other two chambers tested after being cleaned showed no signs of the virus.
Scientists noted that the environment was “a potential means of transmission” and that “strict adherence to environmental and hand hygiene measures” was essential. The virus, which was first identified in China’s Hubei province in December, has now infected more than 95,000 people and killed more than 3,200 in 81 countries and territories.
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that its death rate was 3.4%, revising upward its previous estimates. This rate may be revised in the future.
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