We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




The COVID-19 Coronavirus Remains Viable for Hours or Days on Solid Surfaces

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 30 Mar 2020
Print article
Image: This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the United States (Photo courtesy of [U.S.] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Image: This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the United States (Photo courtesy of [U.S.] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
A recently published paper sheds light on how coronavirus spreads through the air and how long it remains viable on various solid surfaces.

A novel coronavirus of zoonotic origin, SARS-CoV-2 (2019-nCoV) was first identified in patients with acute respiratory disease (COVID-19). This virus is genetically similar to SARS coronavirus and bat SARS-like coronaviruses. The outbreak was initially detected in Wuhan, a major city of China, but has subsequently exploded into a pandemic, which is raging in most of the countries of the world. At this time more than 425,000 cases of the disease have been confirmed with thousands of fatalities. Signs of infection are highly non-specific and these include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, dyspnea, and viral pneumonia. The elderly and those with chronic diseases seem to suffer a more severe disease than does the younger, healthier population.

Many questions remain unanswered regarding how coronavirus spreads. To answer some of them, investigators at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA), the [U.S.] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Bethesda, MD, USA), the [U.S.] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA), and Princeton University (Princeton, NJ, USA) analyzed the aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 and compared it with SARS-CoV-1, the most closely related human coronavirus.

For the study, aerosols similar to those observed in samples obtained from the upper and lower respiratory tract in humans, containing SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-CoV-1 were generated with the use of a three-jet Collison nebulizer. In addition, the viability of the viruses was determined in four environmental conditions (plastic, stainless steel, copper, and cardboard).

Results revealed that SARS-CoV-2 remained viable in aerosols throughout the duration of the three hour experiment, but with a small reduction in infectious titer. This reduction was similar to that observed with SARS-CoV-1.

SARS-CoV-2 was more stable on plastic and stainless steel than on copper and cardboard, and viable virus was detected up to 72 hours after application to these surfaces, although the virus titer was greatly reduced. Significant reduction in virus titers were noted after 72 hours on plastic, after 48 hours on stainless steel, 24 hours on cardboard, and only four hours on copper. The stability kinetics of SARS-CoV-1 were similar. This suggests that differences in the epidemiologic characteristics of these viruses probably arise from other factors, including high viral loads in the upper respiratory tract and the potential for persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 to shed and transmit the virus while asymptomatic.

While the results indicated that viable viruses could be detected for hours or days on some surfaces, it was not shown whether these viruses were still capable of causing the disease.

Contributing author Dr. James Lloyd-Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, "This virus is quite transmissible through relatively casual contact, making this pathogen very hard to contain. If you are touching items that someone else has recently handled, be aware they could be contaminated and wash your hands. The biology and epidemiology of the virus make infection extremely difficult to detect in its early stages because the majority of cases show no symptoms for five days or longer after exposure. Many people will not have developed symptoms yet."

The report appeared in the March 17, 2020, online edition of the journal New England Journal of Medicine.

Related Links:
University of California, Los Angeles
[U.S.] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Princeton University


Gold Member
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Silver Member
HPV Molecular Controls
ZeptoMetrix® HPV Type 16, 18, 45 & 68 Molecular Controls
New
Uric Acid and Blood Glucose Meter
URIT-10

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The tiny clay-based materials can be customized for a range of medical applications (Photo courtesy of Angira Roy and Sam O’Keefe)

‘Brilliantly Luminous’ Nanoscale Chemical Tool to Improve Disease Detection

Thousands of commercially available glowing molecules known as fluorophores are commonly used in medical imaging, disease detection, biomarker tagging, and chemical analysis. They are also integral in... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The ready-to-use DUB enzyme assay kits accelerate routine DUB activity assays without compromising data quality (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Sensitive and Specific DUB Enzyme Assay Kits Require Minimal Setup Without Substrate Preparation

Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are two important physiological processes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, responsible for protein degradation in cells. Deubiquitinating (DUB) enzymes contain around... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The HIV-1 self-testing chip will be capable of selectively detecting HIV in whole blood samples (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples

As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.