Modeling the Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Haddow, Andrew D.; Watt, Taylor R.; Bloomfield, Holly A.; Fetterer, David P.; Harbourt, David E.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.20-1508

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Only the lung/bronchus samples and samples from gloves were infectious (with a higher infectivity rate in the lung/ bronchus samples) while no infectious virus could be isolated from RNA-positive samples from aprons or shoes, which may indicate a degree of instability in SARS-CoV-2 as soon as it is transferred to inanimate surfaces. In an experimental setting, Haddow et al investigated SARS-CoV-2 stability on diverse PPE materials (various face shields, coveralls, and 50/50 nylon/cotton ripstop fabric) and observed a PPE material-dependent reduction in plaque-forming units over 72 h [9]. Infectivity after transfer to surfaces may be higher or lower for other pathogens depending on the nature of the pathogen [1,25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

et al. 2022

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Confronted with an emerging infectious disease at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community faced concerns regarding the safety of autopsies on those who died of the disease. This attitude has changed, and autopsies are now recognized as indispensable tools for understanding COVID-19, but the true risk of infection to autopsy staff is nevertheless still debated. To clarify the rate of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in personal protective equipment (PPE), swabs were taken at nine points in the PPE of one physician and one assistant after each of 11 full autopsies performed at four centers. Swabs were also obtained from three minimally invasive autopsies (MIAs) conducted at a fifth center. Lung/bronchus swabs of the deceased served as positive controls, and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by real-time RT-PCR. In 9 of 11 full autopsies, PPE samples tested RNA positive through PCR, accounting for 41 of the 198 PPE samples taken (21%). The main contaminated items of the PPE were gloves (64% positive), aprons (50% positive), and the tops of shoes (36% positive) while the fronts of safety goggles, for example, were positive in only 4.5% of the samples, and all the face masks were negative. In MIAs, viral RNA was observed in one sample from a glove but not in other swabs. Infectious virus isolation in cell culture was performed on RNA-positive swabs from the full autopsies. Of all the RNA-positive PPE samples, 21% of the glove samples, taken in 3 of 11 full autopsies, tested positive for infectious virus. In conclusion, PPE was contaminated with viral RNA in 82% of autopsies. In 27% of autopsies, PPE was found to be contaminated even with infectious virus, representing a potential risk of infection to autopsy staff. Adequate PPE and hygiene measures, including appropriate waste deposition, are therefore essential to ensure a safe work environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

et al. 2022

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“…The fact that only the lung/bronchus samples and samples from the gloves were infectious -with a higher infectivity rate in lungs/bronchus -while no infectious virus could be isolated from RNA positive samples from aprons or shoes might indicate a certain instability of SARS-CoV-2 as soon as it is transferred to inanimate surfaces. Haddow et al investigated SARS-CoV-2 stability on different PPE materials (different face shields, coverall, 50/50 nylon/cotton ripstop fabric) in an experimental setting, and found a PPE material dependent reduction in plaque-forming units over 72 hours (20). For other pathogens, infectivity after transfer to surfaces may be higher or lower, depending on the nature of the pathogen (6,21).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

Brandner

Borcherding²,

Edler

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Confronted with an emerging infectious disease, the medical community faced relevant concerns regarding the performance of autopsies of COVID-19 deceased at the beginning of the pandemic. This attitude has changed, and autopsies are now recognized as indispensable tools for elucidating COVID-19; despite this, the true risk of infection for autopsy staff is still debated. To elucidate the rate of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in personal protective equipment (PPE), swabs were taken at nine locations of the PPE of one physician and an assistant each from 11 full autopsies performed at four different centers. Further samples were obtained for three minimally invasive autopsies (MIA) conducted at a fifth center. Lung/bronchus swabs of the deceased served as positive controls. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by RT-qPCR. In 9/11 full autopsies PPE samples were tested RNA positive with PCR, in total 21% of all PPE samples taken. The main contaminated parts of the PPE were the gloves (64% positive), the aprons (50% positive), and the upper sides of shoes (36% positive) while for example the fronts of safety goggles were only positive in 4.5% of the samples and all face masks were negative. In MIA, viral RNA was observed in one sample from a glove, but not in other swabs. Infectious virus isolation in cell culture was performed in RNA positive swabs from full autopsies. Of all RNA positive PPE samples, 21% of the glove samples were positive for infectious virus taken in 3/11 full autopsies. In conclusion, in >80% of autopsies, PPE was contaminated with viral RNA. In >25% of autopsies, PPE was found to be even contaminated with infectious virus, signifying a potential risk of infection among autopsy staff. Adequate PPE and hygiene measures, including appropriate waste deposition, are therefore mandatory to enable safe work environment.

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Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on inanimate surfaces: A review

Chen

et al. 2023

Microbiological Research

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Modeling the Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

Contamination of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 autopsies

Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on inanimate surfaces: A review

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