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GEELONG, Victoria, Australia, October 13, 2020 (ENS) – The virus responsible for COVID-19 can survive for up to 28 days on common surfaces, including banknotes, glass items such as cell phone screens, and stainless steel.
Researchers at CSIRO, Australia’s national scientific agency, have found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus tended to survive longer on smooth or non-porous surfaces such as glass, stainless steel and vinyl, compared to complex porous surfaces such as cotton.
The virus survived longer at lower temperatures than at higher temperatures.
And the virus survived longer on paper bills than on plastic bills.
Drops of SARS-CoV-2 are applied to the artificial mucosa to the test surfaces. The work is being carried out in safe biosafety level 4 laboratories at the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness, Geelong, Australia. (Photo © CSIRO Australia, used with permission)
CSIRO CEO Dr. Larry Marshall said: “Establishing how long the virus actually remains viable on surfaces allows us to more accurately predict and mitigate its spread, and better protect our people.”
Conducted in highly secure biosafety level 4 laboratories at the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong, the study, “The effect of temperature on the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 on common surfaces,” was published on October 7 in “Virology Journal.” . “
Co-author Dr. Debbie Eagles is deputy director of the ACDP, which has been working to understand the virus and test a possible vaccine.
“Our results show that SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious on surfaces for long periods of time, reinforcing the need for good practices such as regular hand washing and surface cleaning,” said Dr. Eagles.
“At 20 degrees Celsius, which is roughly room temperature, we found the virus to be extremely robust, surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces like the glass found on cell phone screens and plastic banknotes.” For context, similar experiments have been conducted for influenza A found to survive on surfaces for 17 days, which highlights how resistant SARS-CoV-2 is. “
The research consisted of drying the virus in an artificial mucus on different surfaces, in concentrations similar to those reported in samples from infected patients, and then re-isolating the virus for a month. Further experiments were carried out at 30 and 40 degrees Celsius, and survival times decreased as the temperature increased.
The study was conducted in the dark to eliminate the effect of UV light, as research has shown that direct sunlight can rapidly inactivate the virus.
“While the precise role of surface transmission, the degree of surface contact, and the amount of virus required for infection have yet to be determined, establishing how long this virus remains viable on surfaces is critical to developing risk mitigation strategies. in high contact areas “. Dr. Eagles said.
ACDP co-author and director Professor Trevor Drew said that many viruses remain viable on surfaces outside of their host.
A drop of SARS-CoV-2 on an artificial mucosa on glass, Geelong, Australia (Photo © CSIRO, used with permission)
“How long they can survive and remain infectious depends on the type of virus, the amount, the surface, the environmental conditions and how it is deposited, for example, by touch versus droplets emitted by coughing,” he said.
“Proteins and fats in body fluids can also significantly increase virus survival times,” said Drew.
“The research may also help explain the apparent persistence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 in cold environments with high lipid or protein contamination, such as meat processing facilities and how we could better address that risk,” he suggested.
CSIRO, in association with the Australian Department of Defense, carried out the studies in collaboration with the Five Nations Research and Development Council. This multilateral forum informs and coordinates public security to expand research and development capacity and provide more efficient and cost-effective access to results in the five countries.
The Council includes representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Each country is conducting research on different aspects of the survivability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the results are shared as they become available.
Dr. Eagles said, “Together, we hope that this set of scientific solutions will break down the barriers between us and shift focus to dealing with specific virus hotspots so that we can get the economy back on track.”
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2020. All rights reserved.
