November 2, 2020

Longitudinal Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on High-Touch Surfaces in a Community Setting

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): transmission

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A longitudinal study that sampled high-touch non-porous surfaces in Massachusetts during an outbreak of COVID-19 from April to June found the estimated risk of infection from touching a contaminated surface was less than 5 in 10,000, suggesting fomites play a minimal role in community spread. Overall, 29 (8.3%) of 348 surface swab samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2, including crosswalk buttons, trash can handles, and door handles of essential business entrances. The weekly percentage of positive samples (33 unique surfaces per week) best predicted variation in city-level COVID-19 cases using a 7-day lead time. The authors suggest that environmental surveillance of high-touch surfaces could be useful to warn of COVID-19 case trends.

Harvey et al. (Nov 1, 2020). Longitudinal Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on High-Touch Surfaces in a Community Setting. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.27.20220905