Environmental SARS-CoV-2 contamination in hospital rooms of patients with acute COVID-19 (13 May 2022)

Summary

This French study in the Journal of Hospital Infection evaluated the frequency and factors associated with environmental air and surface contamination in rooms of patients with acute Covid-19. It aimed to increase understanding of how the virus is transmitted in hospitals.

The authors found that surfaces seemed to be more frequently contaminated with Covid-19 than air or mask samples, and noted that viable virus was rarely found. They suggest that samples from the inside of patients' face masks could be used to identify patients with a higher risk of contamination.