A 17-month longitudinal environmental sampling study carried out on public transport vehicles operating in England during the COVID-19 pandemic identified low levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination
A 17-month longitudinal environmental sampling study carried out on public transport vehicles operating in England during the COVID-19 pandemic identified low levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination
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对 COVID-19 大流行期间在英格兰运营的公共交通车辆进行的一项为期 17 个月的纵向环境采样研究发现，SARS-CoV-2 RNA 污染水平较低
DOI：
10.1101/2023.12.20.23300219
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发表时间：
2023
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Aranega-Bou P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Aranega-Bou P
目的监测疫情期间在英格兰运行的车辆中SARS-CoV-2的RNA污染情况，以更好地了解SARS-CoV-2在公共交通工具上的传播风险。方法与结果在2020年12月至2022年4月期间，我们在五家不同运输运营商管理的火车和公共汽车上收集了1314份地表样本。通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测SARS-CoV-2 RNA的存在。在采样的1,314个表面中，有197个（15%）表面发现了SARS-CoV-2 RNA，包括座椅头垫、把手和空气提取格栅，但这些样本上恢复的RNA水平（中位数为23.4，四分位数范围为14.3-35.4，每次提取的Ngene拷贝数）使得采样时存在传染性病毒的可能性极小。然而，检出率随着时间的推移而变化，高峰大致与社区传播高发期一致，这表明乘坐公共交通工具时感染SARS-CoV-2的人可能会创造传播机会。在大流行期间，与其他公共场所一样，在公共交通工具相关的表面上发现了低水平的SARS-CoV-2 RNA。影响声明这项研究的结果将为建模方法和缓解战略的实施提供信息，以尽量减少在公共交通中传播呼吸道病毒的风险。
AimsTo monitor severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA contamination in vehicles operating in England during the pandemic, to better understand transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 on public transport.Methods and ResultsWe collected 1,314 surface samples between December 2020 and April 2022 on trains and buses managed by five different transport operators. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was investigated through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found on 197 (15%) of the 1,314 surfaces sampled, including seat head rests, handholds, and air extract grilles, but the levels of RNA recovered on those samples (median value of 23.4, inter-quartile range: 14.3-35.4,Ngene copies per extraction) made the presence of infectious virus at the time of sampling extremely unlikely. However, detection rates varied over time with peaks broadly coinciding with times of high community transmission, suggesting that people infected with SARS-CoV-2 when travelling on public transport could create opportunities for transmission.ConclusionDuring the pandemic, and as in other public spaces, low levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found on surfaces associated with public transport.Impact statementThe results of this study will inform modelling approaches and the implementation of mitigation strategies to minimise the risk of transmission of respiratory viruses in public transport.