ABSTRACT

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, may be transmitted via airborne droplets or contact with surfaces onto which droplets have deposited. In this study, the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to survive in the dark, at two different relative humidity values and within artificial saliva, a clinically relevant matrix, was investigated. SARS-CoV-2 was found to be stable, in the dark, in a dynamic small particle aerosol under the four experimental conditions we tested and viable virus could still be detected after 90 minutes. The decay rate and half-life was determined and decay rates ranged from 0.4 to 2.27 % per minute and the half lives ranged from 30 to 177 minutes for the different conditions. This information can be used for advice and modelling and potential mitigation strategies.

摘要

SARS-CoV-2 是 COVID-19 大流行的病原体，可能通过空气中的飞沫或接触飞沫沉积的表面传播。在这项研究中，研究了 SARS-CoV-2 在黑暗中、两种不同相对湿度值以及在人工唾液（一种临床相关基质）中生存的能力。我们发现，在我们测试的四种实验条件下，SARS-CoV-2 在黑暗中以动态小颗粒气溶胶形式保持稳定，并且 90 分钟后仍可检测到活病毒。测定了衰减率和半衰期，不同条件下的衰减率范围为每分钟 0.4% 至 2.27%，半衰期范围为 30 分钟至 177 分钟。该信息可用于建议、建模以及潜在的缓解策略。