Respiratory and fecal aerosols play confirmed and suspected roles, respectively, in transmitting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An extensive environmental sampling campaign of both toilet and non-toilet environments was performed in a dedicated hospital building for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the associated environmental factors were analyzed. In total, 107 surface samples, 46 air samples, two exhaled condensate samples, and two expired air samples were collected within and beyond four three-bed isolation rooms. The data of the COVID-19 patients were collected. The building environmental design and the cleaning routines were reviewed. Field measurements of airflow and CO 2 concentrations were conducted. The 107 surface samples comprised 37 from toilets, 34 from other surfaces in isolation rooms, and 36 from other surfaces outside the isolation rooms in the hospital. Four of these samples were positive, namely two ward door handles, one bathroom toilet seat cover, and one bathroom door handle. Three were weakly positive, namely one bathroom toilet seat, one bathroom washbasin tap lever, and one bathroom ceiling exhaust louver. Of the 46 air samples, one collected from a corridor was weakly positive. The two exhaled condensate samples and the two expired air samples were negative. The fecal-derived aerosols in patients' toilets contained most of the detected SARS-CoV-2 in the hospital, highlighting the importance of surface and hand hygiene for intervention.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is currently a global pandemic, and there are limited laboratory studies targeting pathogen resistance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of selected disinfection products and methods on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory. We used quantitative suspension testing to evaluate the effectiveness of the disinfectant/method. Available chlorine of 250 mg/L, 500 mg/L, and 1000 mg/L required 20 min, 5 min, and 0.5 min to inactivate SARS-CoV-2, respectively. A 600-fold dilution of 17% concentration of di-N-decyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (283 mg/L) and the same concentration of di-N-decyl dimethyl ammonium chloride required only 0.5 min to inactivate the virus efficiently. At 30% concentration for 1 min and 40% and above for 0.5 min, ethanol could efficiently inactivate SARS-CoV-2. Heat takes approximately 30 min at 56 °C, 10 min above 70 °C, or 5 min above 90 °C to inactivate the virus. The chlorinated disinfectants, Di-N-decyl dimethyl ammonium bromide/chloride, ethanol, and heat could effectively inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in the laboratory test. The response of SARS-CoV-2 to disinfectants is very similar to that of SARS-CoV.

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To prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in cold-chain transportation in China, we developed specific cryogenic disinfectants. Carrier tests were performed against SARS-CoV-2 at − 20 °C for the four cryogenic disinfectants developed and qRT-PCR was used to test the virus RNA. Peracetic acid, chlorine disinfectants (two different concentrations), and quaternary ammonium disinfectant with their antifreeze can all inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in 5 min at − 20 °C. However, after 2–3 h of exposure, only chlorine disinfectant could destroy SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The viruses treated with peracetic acid and quaternary disinfectants showed positive Ct values even after 3 h detected with qRT-PCR. The conclusion was that the cold-chain disinfectants we tested could inactivate SARS-CoV-2 quickly and effectively, but only chlorine disinfectants could destroy nucleic acids in 3 h. Our study also illustrated that using qRT-PCR detection of viral nucleic acids to assess disinfection was inappropriate. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12560-022-09509-0.