Rapid and low-cost sampling for detection of airborne SARS-CoV-2 in dehumidifier condensate.

ABSTRACT: Airborne spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by infectious aerosol is all but certain. However, easily implemented approaches to assess the actual environmental threat are currently unavailable. We present a simple approach with the potential to rapidly provide information about the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the atmosphere at any location. We used a portable dehumidifier as a readily available and affordable tool to collect airborne virus in the condensate. The dehumidifiers were deployed in selected locations of a hospital ward with patients reporting flu-like symptoms which could possibly be due to COVID-19 over three separate periods of one week. Samples were analyzed frequently for both virus envelope protein and SARS-CoV-2

SUBMITTER: Moitra P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8239551 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature