Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Investigating the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 on the Surfaces, Fomites, and in Indoor Air of a Referral COVID-19 Hospital, Shiraz, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ehsan Gharehchahi 1
Fatemeh Dehghani 2
Ata Rafiee 3
Marzieh Jamalidoust 4
Mohammad Hoseini 5

1 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

3 Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

4 Department of Virology, Professor Alborzi Clinical Microbiology Research Center, Namazi Hospital, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

5 Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jhsss.2022.94013.1502
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an immensely transmissible viral infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the indoor air, on the surfaces, and on the fomites of a COVID-19 referral hospital in Shiraz, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, indoor air sampling was conducted utilizing a standard midget impinger containing 15 ml of viral transfer medium (VTM) equipped with a sampling pump with a flow rate of 10 L min-1 for 60 minutes. Surfaces and fomites were sampled using sterile polyester swabs. The realtime reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) was utilized to detect SARS-CoV-2.
Results: The RNA of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in about 41.2% indoor air and 32% swab samples. Four out of the six (66.7%) indoor air samples up to a distance of 2 meters from the patient’s bed in intensive care units (ICU-1, ICU-3), accident and emergency (A&E-2), and negative pressure rooms were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. All air samples within 2 to 5 meters of the patient’s bed were negative.
Conclusion: This study’s results did not support the airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission; However, it showed contamination of surfaces and fomites in the studied hospital’s wards.

Keywords

Airborne transmission
Fomites
Hospitals
SARS-CoV-2
Surface
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