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Survival of SARS-CoV-2 in the Aerosol Phase Across a Broad Range of Temperature (5 to 40 oC), Relative Humidity (<5 to >90%) and Time (<5 seconds to >24 Hours)
ALLEN E. HADDRELL, Henry Oswin, Tristan Cogan, Jamie Mann, Jonathan P. Reid, University of Bristol
Abstract Number: 369
Working Group: The Role of Aerosol Science in the Understanding of the Spread and Control of COVID-19 and Other Infectious Diseases
Abstract
The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe in 2020 has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide and brought considerable harm to the global economy. The major mechanisms by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spread from one individual to another is critical in the development of effective public health guidelines (e.g. consider the debate over social distancing, 2m or 1m?). Thus, detailed measurements of how environmental conditions effect the length of time SARS-CoV-2 remains infectious while suspended in the aerosol phase is key in limiting the virus’s spread.
A next generation device to study the longevity of infectious species directly in the aerosol phase, termed CELEBS (Controlled Electrodynamic Levitation and Extraction of Bioaerosol onto a Substrate), has been recently reported.(1) Among the novel features of CELEBS include the complete control over the chemical and biological composition of the bioaerosol droplet, and highly resolved aerosolization time periods. In this study, the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 was directly measured in the aerosol phase using a CELEBS across a broad range of temperatures (<5 to >35 oC), relative humidities (<5 to >90%) and time periods (<5 seconds to >24 hours). Furthermore, the effect of longevity as a function of particle composition (e.g. growth media, artificial saliva) was explored.
[1] Otero Fernandez, M., Thomas, R., Garton, N., Hudson, A., Haddrell, A., Reid, J. (2019). Assessing the Airborne Survival of Bacteria in Populations of Aerosol Droplets with a Novel Technology. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 16(150), [20180779].