Healthcare Hygiene magazine February 2021 February 2021 | Page 35

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As we have seen , hands can play a role . As Meyerowitz , et al . ( 2020 ) acknowledge , “ Poor hand hygiene was associated with increased risk for infection among healthcare workers , and daily use of chlorine or ethanol cleaning products in the household was associated with decreased risk . Although this might indirectly suggest direct contact or fomite spread , it can be difficult to tease out the relative importance of simultaneous interventions because , for example , excellent hand hygiene may be associated with better infection control practices overall … Live virus can be isolated after the period of infectiousness , which suggests a minimum necessary inoculum to initiate infection . On the basis of currently available data , we suspect that the levels of viral RNA or live virus transiently remaining on surfaces are unlikely to cause infection , especially outside of settings with known active cases .”
The researchers add , “ In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic , initial uncertainty about transmission , at times fueled by waves of misinformation or overinterpretation of in vitro studies , understandably led to fear among both healthcare workers and the general public . Through the extraordinary dedication of healthcare workers , public health leaders , and scientists around the globe , and with rapid knowledge sharing , we have made remarkable progress in our understanding of transmission of this virus and how to reduce its spread . The accumulated evidence suggests that most transmission is respiratory , with virus suspended either on droplets or , less commonly , on aerosols . Transmission dynamics are heterogeneous , with a major role for superspreading events in sustaining the epidemic . These events often include persons in close proximity in indoor settings with poor ventilation for extended periods . We must continue to stay up to date with the new and emerging evidence and work quickly to revise our policies to reflect this new information .”
References :
Beamer PI , Plotkin KR , Gerba CP , Sifuentes LY , Koenig DW , Reynolds KA . 2015 . Modeling of human viruses on hands and risk of infection in an office workplace using micro-activity data . J Occup Environ Hyg . 12 ( 4 ): 266-275 . doi : 10.1080 / 154 59624.2014.974808
Ben-Shmuel A , et al . Detection and infectivity potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ) environmental contamination in isolation units and quarantine facilities . Clinical Microbiology and Infection . Vol . 26 , No . 12 . Pages 1658-1662 . December 2020 . https :// doi . org / 10.1016 / j . cmi . 2020.09.004
Boone SA and Gerba CP . Significance of Fomites in the Spread of Respiratory and Enteric Viral Disease . Applied and Environmental Microbiology . March 2007 , 73 ( 6 ) 1687-1696 . DOI : 10.1128 / AEM . 02051-06
Colaneri M , Seminari E , Piralla A , et al . Lack of SARS-CoV-2 RNA environmental contamination in a tertiary referral hospital for infectious diseases in Northern Italy . J Hosp Infect , 105 ( 2020 ), pp . 474-476
Colaneri M , Seminari E , Novati S , et al . Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA contamination of inanimate surfaces and virus viability in a health care emergency unit . Clin Microbiol Infect , 26 , pp . 1094 . e1-1094 . e5 . 2020 .
Contreras RD , Wilson AM , Garavito F , Sexton JD , Reynolds KA , Canales RA . 2020 . Assessing virus infection probability in an office setting using stochastic simulation . J Occup Environ Hyg . 17 ( 1 ): 30-37 . doi : 10.1080 / 15459624.2019.1691219
Drossinos Y and Stilianakis NI . 2020 . What aerosol physics tells us about airborne pathogen transmission . Aerosol Sci Tech . 54 ( 6 ): 639-643 .
Goldman E . Exaggerated risk of transmission of COVID-19 by fomites . The Lancet Infectious Diseases . Vol . 20 , No . 8 . P892-893 . Aug . 1 , 2020 . DOI : https :// doi . org / 10.1016 / S1473-3099 ( 20 ) 30561-2
Jones RM . 2020 . Relative contributions of transmission routes for COVID-19 among healthcare personnel providing patient care . J Occup Environ Hyg . 17 ( 9 ): 408-415 .

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