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In the new Uppsala study, which has been published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have investigated whether sars-cov-2 can spread through ventilation systems in hospitals.
– This study is not the first of its kind, there are studies in Sars and Mers, for example, where the virus has been detected quite far from patients. However, this study provides further support that sars-cov-2 is also transmitted through the air. It’s unlikely that just a drip infection can fly into the vent, says Lennart Svensson, who works at Linköping University and the Karolinska Institute.
The researchers examined the ventilation openings. and central ducts that drive indoor air from three covid-19 rooms at Uppsala University Hospital during April and May this year. This resulted in the discovery of virus particles in the ventilation filters up to the attic, 50 meters from the patient rooms.
That the coronavirus could spread so far surprised researchers.
– We did not expect to find the virus in such an extension and so far. The filter is huge, about 40 times 40 centimeters, and it says something about the amount of virus that has spread. That it could be so much that we could never dream.
The virus particles may have been in the filters for up to a week, but researchers have not been able to determine if they are still contagious. There is a difference between whether the virus is infectious, contagious, or the genome of a dead cell, explains Lennart Svensson.
– In our case, we have not been able to prove that it was infectious and I think it is because survival outside the body is only a few hours because it is a sensitive virus, he says.
He compares it with the findings of the coronavirus in wastewater, where it has not been shown that it has infected any human being.
Read more: Save, spend or balance: three votes on Sweden’s chosen path after the pandemic
On the other hand, the results indicate that airborne infection with respect to covid-19 may be a greater risk than previously thought, and means that the one to two meter distance recommendation may need to be reassessed. Although the spread of infection between people is still mainly through droplet infection when someone coughs or sneezes.
Lennart Svensson believes that The increasing spread of the infection that we now see in Sweden and the world is largely caused by sprays from people with no obvious symptoms of the disease. Young people are often the great transmitters of the infection because they don’t get very sick either. Something that has been reported by both the World Health Organization WHO and the Swedish Public Health Agency.
Lennart Svensson is a professor of molecular virology.
Photo: Thor Balkhed
– If you have a wide spread of the infection between people who do not feel sick, the infection must be spread in ways other than droplet infection. They feel healthy and do not cough or sneeze, otherwise they could not go to parties and night clubs or other places where there are many people. There we have a great spread of infection in society, says Lennart Svensson.
Other things that he believes affect the spread of infection are the fabric of society and social safety nets, such as part-time employees in the service professions who go to work when they are sick because they cannot afford stay at home.
Therefore, the conclusion of the researchers is that it is reasonable to take precautionary measures against airborne transmission.
– We think about mouth protection. There are several studies that show that it works. If you are sick and have mouth protection, you are more likely not to get infected.
Do you think a widespread use of mouth guards should be introduced?
– No, it’s too complicated. Oral protection is not the answer to the problem, but part of it.
Places where mouth protection can be effective are, for example, on public transport, in grocery stores and where many people gather, according to Lennart Svensson. But especially in healthcare, where other protective clothing is also required to prevent the spread of infections, such as that which occurred in spring among the elderly, the sick and staff.
The Swedish Public Health Agency does not consider that there are requirements for oral protection, since knowledge of the protective effect is poor. But Lennart Svensson asks the counter-question: Why do health professionals have oral protection if it has no effect?
Ventilation and ventilation have also been shown to influence the spread of covid-19 and, among other things, the Swedish Work Environment Authority has recently introduced specific guidelines for this in workplaces.
Should ventilation be general advice?
– Ventilation is not a dumb idea but we do not know how effective it is and it is less easy to do in the hospital.
Has FHM underestimated airborne infections in its recommendations?
– I do not think so. I think they are aware of this, but they reason otherwise, says Lennart Svensson.
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The hope is that there will soon be a vaccine against covid-19 and several pharmaceutical companies are in the final phase of their testing. Lennart Svensson, who is part of the government think tank, does not believe in any simple solution to the corona pandemic and wants to dim hopes for a vaccine that, at best, can be ready during the first half of 2021. There are several steps left before it can be approved for launch. on the market and all regulations are in force.
Another question is how long does immunity last, for years or just a few months. Today’s seasonal flu vaccine lasts for seven to eight months.
– The duration will be decisive for the success of the vaccine. If it only gives immunity for a few months, we don’t know where we will land.
Will we live with the corona pandemic forever?
– The animal coronavirus does not go away but I think this virus will be kinder over time. It is impossible to know how long it will take. In the best of worlds, we got solid vaccine data in January. So we probably have a lot of answers to these questions, but we are in an in-between period. No one knows when a vaccine will arrive, says Lennart Svensson.
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