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. 2022 Aug 24;75(1):e97-e101.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab933.

The Removal of Airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Microbial Bioaerosols by Air Filtration on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Surge Units

Andrew Conway Morris  1   2 , Katherine Sharrocks  3 , Rachel Bousfield  3   4 , Leanne Kermack  5 , Mailis Maes  5 , Ellen Higginson  5 , Sally Forrest  5 , Joana Pereira-Dias  5 , Claire Cormie  5 , Tim Old  3 , Sophie Brooks  3 , Islam Hamed  1 , Alicia Koenig  1 , Andrew Turner  6 , Paul White  6   7 , R Andres Floto  8   9 , Gordon Dougan  5 , Effrossyni Gkrania-Klotsas  3 , Theodore Gouliouris  3   4 , Stephen Baker  5 , Vilas Navapurkar  1
Affiliations

The Removal of Airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Other Microbial Bioaerosols by Air Filtration on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Surge Units

Andrew Conway Morris et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Airborne severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detected in a coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) ward before activation of HEPA-air filtration but not during filter operation; SARS-CoV-2 was again detected following filter deactivation. Airborne SARS-CoV-2 was infrequently detected in a COVID-19 intensive care unit. Bioaerosol was also effectively filtered.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; air filtration; airborne pathogens; nosocomial infection.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Bioaerosol detection in specific air sampler fractions over the 3-week testing period on a “surge” ward and “surge” ICU. A, Data from “surge” ward. Top left: Layout of the room on the “surge” ward with 4 beds. Air filter was installed in the marked location and set to operate at 1000 m3/hour with a room volume of approximately 107 m3. Top middle: Stacked bar chart showing collated total number of bioaerosol detections during weeks 1 (filter off) and 2 (filter on). ∗P=.05 by Mann-Whitney U test. Top right: CT values of detected pathogens by high-throughput qPCR when filter switch on and off. Bottom: CT values for the single qPCR SARS-CoV-2 detection when filter switch on and off. B, Data from “surge” ICU. Top left: Layout on the “surge” ICU with 6 beds including the addition of a further supra-capacity bed to increase occupancy (labeled with red box). Air filter was installed in the marked location and set to operate at 1000 m3/hour with a room volume of approximately 195 m3. Top middle: Stacked bar chart showing collated total number of bioaerosol detections during weeks 1 (filter off) and 2 (filter on) ∗P=.05 by Mann-Whitney U test. Top right: CT values of detected pathogens by high-throughput qPCR when filter switch on and off. Bottom: CT values for the single qPCR SARS-CoV-2 detection when filter switched on and off. NB: variation in CT values is a function of the microfluidics technology and do not reflect higher bioaerosol burdens. Abbreviations: CT, cycle threshold; ICU, intensive care unit; qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction; SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
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