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Review
. 2020 Jun:95:363-370.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.04.057. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Potential fecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current evidence and implications for public health

E Susan Amirian  1
Affiliations
Review

Potential fecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current evidence and implications for public health

E Susan Amirian. Int J Infect Dis. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in Hubei Province, China in December 2019 and has since become a global pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of cases and over 165 countries affected. Primary routes of transmission of the causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are through respiratory droplets and close person-to-person contact. While information about other potential modes of transmission are relatively sparse, evidence supporting the possibility of a fecally mediated mode of transmission has been accumulating. Here, current knowledge on the potential for fecal transmission is briefly reviewed and the possible implications are discussed from a public health perspective.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Disease control; Fecal–oral transmission; Mode of transmission; Route of transmission; SARS-CoV-2.

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