Study Finds COVID Genetic Material Often in Hospital Air During Outbreaks

A new study published in Respiratory Medicine found that “COVID-19 genetic material was frequently detected in hospital air during community outbreaks.” CIDRAP has the news.

The researchers conducted air and surface sampling in ED and ICU units of a hospital during COVID outbreaks in 2023 and 2024. 39% of the samples ended up being positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Detection was “significantly more common in the ED than in the ICU. Of the positive samples, 80% were collected in the ED and 20% in the ICU.”

Some hot spots within the ED “included the acute-care area (9 of 13 samples positive), the public waiting room (6 of 12), and a walkway area (1 of 1). In the ICU, positive samples were detected in a staff tearoom (2 of 10), inside a negative-pressure room housing a COVID patient (1 of 1), and immediately outside that room (1 of 8).”

Four positive aerosol samples were collected in the ED “from November 1 to November 7, 2023, which was up to a week before the hospital formally declared a multi-ward outbreak on November 8. These findings point to the potential value of using aerosol sampling to detect outbreaks before they become widespread, write the researchers.” Surface contamination was also less common; only 2 of the 28 surface and equipment samples returned positive, and they both came from the room of an infected ICU patient.

These findings “underscore the importance of using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration and ensuring staff have access to respiratory protection during outbreaks, particularly in high-traffic settings such as emergency departments, write the authors. They add that portable air purifiers and improved ventilation-system maintenance could further reduce the risk of transmission.”