A systematic review of human coronaviruses survival on environmental surfaces

Abstract

The current pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led people to implement preventive measures, including surface disinfection and use of alcohol-based hand gel, in order to avoid viral transmission via fomites. However, the role of surface transmission is still debated. The present systematic review aims to summarize all the evidence on surface survival of coronaviruses infecting humans. The analysis of 18 studies showed the longest coronavirus survival time is 28 days at room temperature (RT) on different surfaces: polymer banknotes, vinyl, steel, glass, and paper banknotes. Concerning SARS-CoV-2 human infection from contaminated surfaces, dangerous viral load on surfaces for up to 21 days was determined on polymer banknotes, steel, glass and paper banknotes. For viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, the longest period of survival was 14 days, recorded on glass. Environmental conditions can affect virus survival, and indeed, low temperatures and low humidity support prolonged survival of viruses on contaminated surfaces independently of surface type. Furthermore, it has been shown that exposure to sunlight significantly reduces the risk of surface transmission. Although studies are increasingly investigating the topic of coronavirus survival, it is difficult to compare them, given the methodology differences. For this reason, it is advisable to define a reference working protocol for virus survival trials, but, as an immediate measure, there is also a need for further investigations of coronavirus survival on surfaces.

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in hospital: An insight into environmental surfaces contamination, disinfectants’ efficiency, and estimation of plastic waste production

“…As it can be inferred from the results of Table 4 , that SARS-CoV-2 has more persistence on surfaces made from MDF, wood, and ceramic. In accordance with these results, Noorimotlagh et al (2021) and Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 have shown that the survival of SARS-CoV-2 depends on surface material and environmental conditions. ( Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ).…”

“…The results demonstrated the capability of SARS-CoV-2 to persist on the tested inanimate surfaces against the two used disinfectants ( Bloise et al, 2020 ; Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Ong et al, 2020 ; Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ). On the other hand, it can be argued that the level of viral load of patients or infected people in the hospital was high and perhaps several times the amount of disinfectant should be used, especially on high-touch surfaces, to ensure that presence of SARS-CoV-2 on inanimate surfaces is negative.…”

“…There are various laboratory studies that have confirmed the possibility of existence of viable SARS-CoV-2 on frequently-touched environmental surfaces (from 3 h in aerosols to 8–72 h on dry surfaces, depending on surface material) ( Aytoğan et al, 2020 ; Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Ong et al, 2020 ; van Doremalen et al, 2020 ). In two systematic review studies, Noorimotlagh et al, 2021a , Noorimotlagh et al, 2021b ( Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ) and Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ( Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ) confirmed that depending on surface material and environmental characteristics, SARS-CoV-2 can survive up to 28 days on environmental surfaces at room temperature, which is longer than other coronaviruses ( Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ). It has been reported that compared to SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, the viability of SARS-CoV-2 is longer ( Chan et al, 2011 ; Van Doremalen, Bushmaker et al, 2013 ).…”

“…There are different mechanisms and routes of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 including the direct route (person-to-person transmission that occurs by having close and prolonged contact with a patient or an infected person) and the indirect routes including airborne transmission by airborne viral infectivity and transmission by contact with contaminated environmental surfaces ( Harbizadeh et al, 2019 ; Coccia, 2020 ; Kim et al, 2020 ; Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Dargahi et al, 2021 ; Maleki et al, 2021 ). Based on these routes, WHO and other official agencies suggest that people should use face masks, environmental surface disinfectants and alcohol-based hand gel, and do social distancing to prevent viral transmission ( Noorimotlagh, Mirzaee et al 2020 , 2021 ; Maleki et al, 2021 ; Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ; Vosoughi et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Among the main routes of COVID-19 transmission, the role of environmental surface transmission is still controversial among scientists due to several factors such as long-term persistence of the virus on different environmental surfaces and its activity's dependence on temperature and relative humidity, especially in indoor environments ( Lee et al, 2020a , b ; Noorimotlagh, Jaafarzadeh et al 2020 , 2021 ; Noorimotlagh et al, 2020 ; Marzoli and Bortolami, 2021 ; Moore et al, 2021 ; Nottmeyer and Sera, 2021 ). Therefore, detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the hospital environmental surfaces is of utmost importance.…”