CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: 1-MINUTE READS
‘Dry swabbing’ offers new way of testing
Wide-scale genetic testing for SARS-CoV-2 has been hampered, in part, by shortages of the solutions used to store sampling swabs and extract viral RNA from them. To overcome this difficulty, researchers have developed a procedure for detecting viral RNA in swabs without the highly sought solutions.
Reference: bioRxiv preprint
Hospital toilets can be a hotspot for airborne viral RNA
Researchers tested the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols — fine airborne particles — at two hospitals treating people with COVID-19. They detected elevated levels in locations such as a small toilet used by patients, and staff changing rooms. No viral RNA was detected in staff rooms after they had been disinfected. Low to undetectable levels were found in the hospitals’ well-ventilated patient wards. The presence of airborne viral RNA suggests that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to spread by way of aerosols, the researchers say. They suggest that measures such as routine disinfection and better ventilation could help to control the virus’s spread.
Reference: Nature paper
Wide-scale genetic testing for SARS-CoV-2 has been hampered, in part, by shortages of the solutions used to store sampling swabs and extract viral RNA from them. To overcome this difficulty, researchers have developed a procedure for detecting viral RNA in swabs without the highly sought solutions.
Reference: bioRxiv preprint
Hospital toilets can be a hotspot for airborne viral RNA
Researchers tested the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols — fine airborne particles — at two hospitals treating people with COVID-19. They detected elevated levels in locations such as a small toilet used by patients, and staff changing rooms. No viral RNA was detected in staff rooms after they had been disinfected. Low to undetectable levels were found in the hospitals’ well-ventilated patient wards. The presence of airborne viral RNA suggests that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to spread by way of aerosols, the researchers say. They suggest that measures such as routine disinfection and better ventilation could help to control the virus’s spread.
Reference: Nature paper
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