June 17, 2020

Environmental Surface Testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during Prolonged Isolation of an Asymptomatic Carrier

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• Testing of high-touch surfaces (e.g. mobile phone, door handle) in an isolation room of an asymptomatic pediatric patient positive for SARS-CoV-2 found no evidence of environmental contamination. The patient had been diagnosed 41 days prior to sampling, but remained PCR positive without decrease in viral titer. The most recent cleaning of the environment was 4 days prior. These results give some indication that environmental contamination by asymptomatic carriers may be limited; however these results are based on a single case and may have been affected by the long interval between diagnosis of the case and sampling of the environment.  

Shin et al. (June 2020). Environmental Surface Testing for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during Prolonged Isolation of an Asymptomatic Carrier. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2020.300