Hostname: page-component-6dbcb7884d-hdw28 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-14T06:06:33.957Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Air dispersal of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Implications for hospital infection control during the fifth wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in Hong Kong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2022

Shuk-Ching Wong Open the ORCID record for Shuk-Ching Wong [Opens in a new window] ,
Veronica Wing-Man Chan ,
Lithia Lai-Ha Yuen ,
Christine Ho-Yan AuYeung ,
Jessica Oi-Yan Leung ,
Chi-Kuen Li ,
Monica Oi-Tung Kwok ,
Simon Yung-Chun So ,
Jonathan Hon-Kwan Chen Open the ORCID record for Jonathan Hon-Kwan Chen [Opens in a new window]  and
Anthony Raymond Tam Open the ORCID record for Anthony Raymond Tam [Opens in a new window]
...Show all authors
Shuk-Ching Wong
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Veronica Wing-Man Chan
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Lithia Lai-Ha Yuen
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Christine Ho-Yan AuYeung
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Jessica Oi-Yan Leung
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Chi-Kuen Li
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Monica Oi-Tung Kwok
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Simon Yung-Chun So
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Jonathan Hon-Kwan Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Anthony Raymond Tam
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Ivan Fan-Ngai Hung
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Kelvin Kai-Wang To
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Janice Yee-Chi Lo
Affiliation:
Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Kwok-Yung Yuen
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng*
Affiliation:
Infection Control Team, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong West Cluster, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China Department of Microbiology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
*
Author for correspondence: Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng, E-mail: vcccheng@hku.hk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We obtained 24 air samples in 8 general wards temporarily converted into negative-pressure wards admitting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) omicron variant BA.2.2 in Hong Kong. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 19 (79.2%) of 24 samples despite enhanced indoor air dilution. It is difficult to prevent airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitals.

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 44 , Issue 8 , August 2023 , pp. 1321 - 1324
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Shrestha, LB, Foster, C, Rawlinson, W, Tedla, N, Bull, RA. Evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants BA.1 to BA.5: Implications for immune escape and transmission. Rev Med Virol 2022;32:e2381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, VC, Ip, JD, Chu, AW, et al. Rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 omicron subvariant BA.2 in a single-source community outbreak. Clin Infect Dis 2022;75:e44–e49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, MA, Rhee, C, Tucker, R, et al. Rapid control of hospital-based SARS-CoV-2 Omicron clusters through daily testing and universal use of N95 respirators. Clin Infect Dis 2022;75:e296–e299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klompas, M, Rhee, C, Baker, MA. Universal use of N95 respirators in Healthcare settings when community coronavirus disease 2019 rates are high. Clin Infect Dis 2022;74:529–531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, VC, Wong, SC, Chan, VW, et al. Air and environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 around hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2020;41:1258–1265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, SC, Yuen, LL, Chan, VW, et al. Airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): what is the implication of hospital infection control? Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2021. doi: 10.1017/ice.2021.318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, SC, Leung, M, Tong, DW, et al. Infection control challenges in setting up community isolation and treatment facilities for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): implementation of directly observed environmental disinfection. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2021;42:1037–1045.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wong, SC, Chan, VW, AuYeung, CH, et al. Air dispersal of respiratory viruses other than severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the implication on hospital infection control. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2022. doi: 10.1017/ice.2022.186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shenal, BV, Radonovich, LJ Jr, Cheng, J, Hodgson, M, Bender, BS. Discomfort and exertion associated with prolonged wear of respiratory protection in a healthcare setting. J Occup Environ Hyg 2012;9:59–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, SC, Lam, GK, AuYeung, CH, et al. Absence of nosocomial influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infection in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era: implication of universal masking in hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2021;42:218–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Wong et al. supplementary material

Wong et al. supplementary material

Download Wong et al. supplementary material(File)
File 15.3 KB