Recent Studies Renew Call for Sanitizing Surfaces and Handwashing to Control COVID-19 Virus

Two recently published studies demonstrated that the COVID-19 virus can survive on surfaces for long periods of time.  An Australian study found that with "initial viral loads broadly equivalent to the highest titres excreted by infectious patients, viable virus was isolated for up to 28 days at 20 °C from common surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and both paper and polymer banknotes."  A study out of Japan found that the virus can survive on the skin up to 9 hours.

Certainly aerosolized virus is the primary route of infection.  But as these studies show, contact transmission, such as when the SARS-CoV-2 is on surfaces or on the hands, must be considered.  So with this, surface sanitizing and handwashing must be routinely done.  

The focus for many people has been on mask wearing, but there must be renewed attention to sanitizing surfaces including the hands.  My retail operations have reduced their support for this through not having hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes available.  This needs to improve.

Virology Journal
https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1186/s12985-020-01418-7

The effect oftemperature onpersistence ofSARS-CoV-2 oncommon surfaces

Abstract Background: The rate at which COVID-19 has spread throughout the globe has been alarming. While the role of fomite transmission is not yet fully understood, precise data on the environmental stability of SARS-CoV-2 is required to determine the risks of fomite transmission from contaminated surfaces. 

Methods: This study measured the survival rates of infectious SARS-CoV-2, suspended in a standard ASTM E2197 matrix, on several common surface types. All experiments were carried out in the dark, to negate any effects of UV light. Inoculated surfaces were incubated at 20 °C, 30 °C and 40 °C and sampled at various time points. 

Results: Survival rates of SARS-CoV-2 were determined at different temperatures and D-values, Z-values and half-life were calculated. We obtained half lives of between 1.7 and 2.7 days at 20 °C, reducing to a few hours when temperature was elevated to 40 °C. With initial viral loads broadly equivalent to the highest titres excreted by infectious patients, viable virus was isolated for up to 28 days at 20 °C from common surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and both paper and polymer banknotes. Conversely, infectious virus survived less than 24 h at 40 °C on some surfaces. 

Conclusion: These findings demonstrate SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious for significantly longer time periods than generally considered possible. These results could be used to inform improved risk mitigation procedures to prevent the fomite spread of COVID-19. 

Keywords: Environmental stability, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Survivability

Clinical Infectious Disease
https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1517/5917611
Survival of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus on the human skin: Importance of hand hygiene in COVID-19

Background

The stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on human skin remains unknown, considering the hazards of viral exposure to humans. We generated a model that allows the safe reproduction of clinical studies on the application of pathogens to human skin and elucidated the stability of SARS-CoV-2 on the human skin.

Methods

We evaluated the stability of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus (IAV), mixed with culture medium or upper respiratory mucus, on human skin surfaces and the dermal disinfection effectiveness of 80% (w/w) ethanol against SARS-CoV-2 and IAV.

Results

SARS-CoV-2 and IAV were inactivated more rapidly on skin surfaces than on other surfaces (stainless steel/glass/plastic); the survival time was significantly longer for SARS-CoV-2 than for IAV [9.04 h (95% confidence interval: 7.96–10.2 h) vs. 1.82 h (1.65–2.00 h)]. IAV on other surfaces was inactivated faster in mucus versus medium conditions, while SARS-CoV-2 showed similar stability in the mucus and medium; the survival time was significantly longer for SARS-CoV-2 than for IAV [11.09 h (10.22–12.00 h) vs. 1.69 h (1.57–1.81 h)]. Moreover, both SARS-CoV-2 and IAV in the mucus/medium on human skin were completely inactivated within 15 s by ethanol treatment.

Conclusions

The 9-h survival of SARS-CoV-2 on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV, thus accelerating the pandemic. Proper hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

SARS-CoV-2, human skin, stability, influenza A virus,