October 5, 2020

Survival of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Virus on the Human Skin: Importance of Hand Hygiene in COVID-19

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

• Survival time of SARS-CoV-2 on human skin was significantly longer than that of influenza A virus (9.0 hours vs. 1.8 hours). Exposure of both viruses to 80% ethanol while on the skin surface, in the context of droplets from a cough or sneeze, inactivated both viruses within 15 seconds of exposure, indicating appropriate hand hygiene using ethanol-based disinfectants may lead to the quick viral inactivation and may reduce the high risk of contact infections.

Hirose et al. (Oct 3, 2020). Survival of SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Virus on the Human Skin: Importance of Hand Hygiene in COVID-19. Clinical Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1517