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Airborne Virus Detection in Hospitals

The researchers detected viruses in the air where staff removed protective gear at hospitals in Wuhan, suggesting viruses on clothing could re-enter the air. Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center also found coronavirus RNA in hospital rooms' air and surfaces. While droplet size wasn't determined, RNA found under beds and on windowsills suggested small droplets circulated in air currents. The Nebraska researchers detected RNA but not if viruses were still infectious, and are trying to grow live virus to determine ability to sicken people.

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8 views1 page

Airborne Virus Detection in Hospitals

The researchers detected viruses in the air where staff removed protective gear at hospitals in Wuhan, suggesting viruses on clothing could re-enter the air. Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center also found coronavirus RNA in hospital rooms' air and surfaces. While droplet size wasn't determined, RNA found under beds and on windowsills suggested small droplets circulated in air currents. The Nebraska researchers detected RNA but not if viruses were still infectious, and are trying to grow live virus to determine ability to sicken people.

Uploaded by

David Leviste
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

The researchers also detected viruses in the air in the locations where staff members

took off their protective garments, suggesting that viruses that had settled on clothing
could be knocked back into the air. These readings were greatly reduced after the
hospitals implemented more rigorous cleaning procedures.
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The Wuhan data echo findings at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where
other researchers also found coronavirus RNA in the air as well as on surfaces in rooms.
That research, still in the process of being reviewed by other scientists before
publication in a journal, did not determine the size of the droplets. But the presence of
RNA from the virus in out-of-the-way locations, such as under a bed and on window
sills, also suggested that small droplets were carried around the rooms by air currents.
In their paper, the Nebraska researchers detected the presence of coronavirus RNA, but
not whether the viruses were still infectious. In additional experiments, the scientists
are trying to grow the virus in cultures to determine if they are capable of sickening
people.
“We’ve made a lot of progress the last couple of weeks,” said Joshua L. Santarpia, a
professor of pathology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
“I really do hope that we’ll start being able to say something more definitive in the next
week or so.”
In the Wuhan research, no viruses were detected in most of the public places they
studied, including the residential building and the supermarket, although some levels
were detected in crowded areas outside of one of the hospitals and in the department
stores. Dr. Marr said she calculated it would take about 15 minutes for a person to
breathe in one virus particle.
“It was interesting to see there were measurable amounts,” Dr. Marr said. “I think it
adds good evidence to avoid crowding.”
The paper did not state whether people passing through those areas were wearing
masks, which would block much of the virus a sick person breathes out.
Knvul Sheikh contributed reporting.

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