Login Register Cart 0
Generic placeholder image

Coronaviruses

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 2666-7967
ISSN (Online): 2666-7975

Back
Journal Home About Journal Editorial Board Current Issue Volumes/Issues
Subscribe
Research Article

Assessment of Traces of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a Laboratory Setting Using In vitro-Diagnostic RT-qPCR

Author(s): Suresh Kumar, Lal Chand Pal, Sahdev Choudhary, Arbind Kumar* and Sanjay Kumar*

Volume 4, Issue 2, 2023

Published on: 22 August, 2023

Article ID: e240723219031 Pages: 5

DOI: 10.2174/2666796704666230724162816

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: The global incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection is now very low. Despite the vaccination drive worldwide, the emergence of new omicron variants and their infection have been reported in a few countries. It is now required to identify potential risks associated with the COVID-19 disease aftermath’s 3rd disease wave. During pandemic stages, the healthcare system bears a significant burden in identifying early risk and providing early management to reduce infection.

Methods: In this investigation, an attempt has been made to assess the laboratory risk of SARS-CoV-2 contamination. The samples were collected from the various blocks of the testing centre, including the surface, floor, diagnostic instruments, solutions, and tap water, and then RNA was isolated and in vitro diagnostic RT-qPCR was performed. A total of 316 samples were collected and analysed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Our findings confirmed that only four samples (1.77%) had ORF-1ab and E gene signals, which indicated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The CT values for the E gene were 34.52 [IQR: 32.37-36.36] and 35.02 [IQR:34.25-35.76] for the ORF1-ab gene, respectively.

Results: All four were taken from the surfaces, indicating that other parts were contamination-free. Very few positive contaminations demonstrated that laboratory sterilising processes are fully functional and effective.

Conclusion: This study eventually provided more information about the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA traces in the environment aftermath of 3rd disease wave of COVID-19, including diagnostic laboratories.

Graphical Abstract

[1]
SanJuan-Reyes S, Gómez-Oliván LM, Islas-Flores H. COVID-19 in the environment. Chemosphere 2021; 263: 127973.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127973] [PMID: 32829224]
[2]
Chia PY, Coleman KK, Tan YK, et al. Detection of air and surface contamination by SARS-CoV-2 in hospital rooms of infected patients. Nat Commun 2020; 11(1): 2800.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16670-2] [PMID: 32472043]
[3]
Cheng VCC, Wong SC, Chen JHK, et al. Escalating infection control response to the rapidly evolving epidemiology of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2020; 41(5): 493-8.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ice.2020.58] [PMID: 32131908]
[4]
Ding Z, Qian H, Xu B, et al. Toilets dominate environmental detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in a hospital. Sci Total Environ 2021; 20(753): 141710.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141710]
[5]
Guo ZD, Wang ZY, Zhang SF, et al. Aerosol and surface distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in hospital wards, Wuhan, China, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis 2020; 26(7): 1583-91.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200885] [PMID: 32275497]
[6]
Jiang Y, Wang H, Chen Y, He J, Chen L, Liu Y. Clinical data on hospital environmental hygiene monitoring and medical staff protection during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak. medRxiv 2020.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.25.20028043]
[7]
Liu Y, Ning Z, Chen Y, et al. Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals. Nature 2020; 582(7813): 557-60.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2271-3] [PMID: 32340022]
[8]
Ong SWX, Tan YK, Chia PY, et al. Air, surface environmental, and personal protective equipment contamination by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from a symptomatic patient. JAMA 2020; 323(16): 1610-2.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.3227] [PMID: 32129805]
[9]
Santarpia JL, Rivera DN, Herrera VL, et al. Aerosol and surface contamination of SARS-CoV-2 observed in quarantine and isolation care. Sci Rep 2020; 10(1): 12732.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69286-3] [PMID: 32728118]
[10]
Ye G, Lin H, Chen S, et al. Environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare premises. J Infect 2020; 81(2): e1-5.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.04.034] [PMID: 32360881]
[11]
Zhou J, Otter JA, Price JR, et al. Investigating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surface and air contamination in an acute healthcare setting during the peak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in London. Clin Infect Dis 2021; 73(7): e1870-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa905] [PMID: 32634826]
[12]
Wu S, Wang Y, Jin X, Tian J, Liu J, Mao Y. Environmental contamination by SARS-CoV-2 in a designated hospital for coronavirus disease 2019. Am J Infect Control 2020; 48(8): 910-4.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.05.003] [PMID: 32407826]
[13]
Casabianca A, Orlandi C, Amagliani G, Magnani M, Brandi G, Schiavano GF. SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection on environmental surfaces in a university setting of central Italy. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19(9): 5560.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095560] [PMID: 35564956]
[14]
Kumar A, Kumar A, Padwad Y, Sharma S, Kumar S. A strategy to develop one step real-time RT-PCR for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection from clinical samples. Research Square 2022.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2062428/v1]
[15]
Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med 2020; 382(8): 727-33.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2001017] [PMID: 31978945]
[16]
Kumar A, Kumar S, Sharma A, Tirpude NV, Thakur S. Combating the Progression of Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infectious disease: Current state and future prospects in molecular diagnostics and drug discovery. Curr Mol Med 2023; 23(2): 127-46.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1566524021666210803154250] [PMID: 34344288]
[17]
Kumar A, Sharma A, Tirpude NV, Sharma S, Padwad YS, Kumar S. Pharmaco-immunomodulatory interventions for averting cytokine storm-linked disease severity in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Inflammopharmacology 2022; 30(1): 23-49.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10787-021-00903-x] [PMID: 35048262]
[18]
van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, et al. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1. N Engl J Med 2020; 382(16): 1564-7.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2004973] [PMID: 32182409]
[19]
Geng Y, Wang Y. Stability and transmissibility of SARS‐CoV‐2 in the environment. J Med Virol 2023; 95(1): e28103.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmv.28103] [PMID: 36039831]
[20]
Moore G, Rickard H, Stevenson D, et al. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 within the healthcare environment: a multi-centre study conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in England. J Hosp Infect 2021; 108: 189-96.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2020.11.024] [PMID: 33259882]
[21]
Wee LEI, Sim XYJ, Conceicao EP, et al. Containing COVID-19 outside the isolation ward: The impact of an infection control bundle on environmental contamination and transmission in a cohorted general ward. Am J Infect Control 2020; 48(9): 1056-61.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.06.188] [PMID: 32599101]
[22]
Xue X, Ball JK, Alexander C, Alexander MR. All surfaces are not equal in contact transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Matter 2020; 3(5): 1433-41.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2020.10.006] [PMID: 33043292]
[23]
Chin AWH, Chu JTS, Perera MRA, et al. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions. Lancet Microbe 2020; 1(1): e10.
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(20)30003-3] [PMID: 32835322]

Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy