A recent study confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 transmits through the air. The research supports a prior analysis that suggests the virus's RNA concentration is higher in indoor air than in outdoor air.
The specific method of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 dissemination has remained a mystery. Previously considered to spread through surfaces, epidemiologists discovered that countries that wore masks during the epidemic were less badly afflicted. However, quantifiable proof of infectious coronavirus particles in the air was insufficient.
The new collaborative study carried out by a group of scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and IMTech in Chandigarh, in collaboration with hospitals in Hyderabad and Mohali, confirmed airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
During the study, researchers analyzed coronavirus genome content in air samples collected from different areas occupied by COVID-19 patients, including hospitals, and closed rooms in which only coronavirus patients spent a short period, and houses of home-quarantined COVID-19 patients.
The researchers mentioned that the virus was commonly detected in the air around COVID-19 patients, and the positivity rate grew as the patient count increased. They discovered the virus in both ICU and non-ICU areas of hospitals, implying that patients shed the virus in the air regardless of the severity of their sickness. The researchers also discovered live coronavirus in the air, which could infect living cells and propagate over a considerable distance.
Masks crucial in battle against Covid
To prevent the spread of coronavirus, scientists still recommend wearing face masks.
Shivranjani Moharir, a researcher who was a part of this study said, "Our results show that coronavirus can stay in the air for some time in the absence of ventilation in closed spaces. In these studies, we find that the positivity rate of finding the virus in the air was 75 percent when two or more Covid patients were present in a room, in contrast to 15.8 percent when one or no COVID-19 patients occupied the room in these studies."
Moharir added, "Our observations are concurrent with previous studies that suggest that the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is higher in indoor air as compared to outdoor air; and indoor, it is higher in hospital and healthcare settings that host a larger number of COVID-19 patients as compared to that in community indoor settings.
"As we are back to conducting in-person activities, air surveillance is a useful means to predict the infection potential of spaces like classrooms and meeting halls. This can help refine strategies to control the spread of infections, "stated Rakesh Mishra, the lead scientist of the work, and Director of the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society.
