Although SARS-CoV-2 surface contamination has been investigated in health care settings, little is known about the SARS-CoV-2 surface contamination in public urban areas, particularly in tropical countries. Here, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on high-touch surfaces in a large city in Brazil, one of the most affected countries by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world. A total of 400 surface samples were collected in February 2021 in the City of Recife, Northeastern Brazil. A total of 97 samples (24.2%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR using the CDC-USA protocol. All the collection sites, except one (18/19, 94.7%) had at least one environmental surface sample contaminated. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was higher in public transport terminals (47/84, 55.9%), followed by health care units (26/84, 30.9%), beach areas (4/21, 19.0%), public parks (14/105, 13.3%), supply centre (2/21, 9.5%), and public markets (4/85, 4.7%). Toilets, ATMs, handrails, playgrounds and outdoor gyms were identified as fomites with the highest rates of SARS-CoV-2 detection. Taken together, our data provide a real-world picture of SARS-CoV-2 dispersion in highly populated tropical areas and identify critical control points that need to be targeted to break SARS-CoV-2 transmission chains.

中文翻译：

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在第二波 COVID-19 大流行期间，巴西高度接触表面上的 SARS-CoV-2 广泛污染

尽管已经在医疗保健机构中调查了 SARS-CoV-2 表面污染，但人们对公共城市地区，特别是热带国家的 SARS-CoV-2 表面污染知之甚少。在这里，我们调查了巴西一个大城市的高接触表面上 SARS-CoV-2 的存在，巴西是世界上受 COVID-19 大流行影响最严重的国家之一。2021 年 2 月，在巴西东北部累西腓市共采集了 400 个地表样本。使用 CDC-USA 协议通过 RT-qPCR 检测出总共 97 个样本（24.2%）的 SARS-CoV-2 呈阳性。除一个 (18/19, 94.7%) 外，所有收集点至少有一个环境表面样品受到污染。公共交通枢纽的 SARS-CoV-2 阳性率较高（47/84, 55.9%），其次是医疗保健单位（26/84, 30.9%），海滩地区（4/21, 19.0%），公园 (14/105, 13.3%)、供应中心 (2/21, 9.5%) 和公共市场 (4/85, 4.7%)。厕所、自动取款机、扶手、游乐场和户外健身房被确定为 SARS-CoV-2 检测率最高的污染物。总而言之，我们的数据提供了 SARS-CoV-2 在人口稠密的热带地区扩散的真实情况，并确定了打破 SARS-CoV-2 传播链所需的关键控制点。