The Center For Health Design
The Nutgraph
Early on, you may remember that lab study we all heard about - the virus is viable on surfaces for hours, or even days, depending on the material. These Italian researchers were looking for contamination in high risk areas. Just what surfaces might contribute to transmission? 4 hours after cleaning, they sampled surfaces in an infectious disease emergency unit and a sub-intensive care ward where COVID-19 patients were being treated. They collected 26 samples on CPAP helmets, bedrails, infusion pumps, keyboards - even staff PPE.
In the end, only 2 samples were positive - the plastic CPAP helmets, right next to patients’ faces. Because all samples were inoculated into other cells, and those tests came back negative, all of the samples, even those 2, were an unlikely source of infection. So why are these results different from prior lab-controlled studies? The real world isn’t controlled and the authors suggest that factors like room temperature, humidity, and even the filtered oxygen used for patient masks may influence and reduce spread. In the end, “real life” conditions matter, and this study suggests surfaces are less of a risk factor than what we thought.
The lede for:
Colaneri, M., Seminari, E., Novati, S., Asperges, E., Biscarini, S., Piralla, A., Percivalle, E., Cassaniti, I., Baldanti, F., Bruno, R., Mondelli, M. U., Brunetti, E., Di Matteo, A., Seminari, E., Maiocchi, L., Zuccaro, V., Novanti, S., Maserati, R., Orsolini, P., & Vecchia, M. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination of inanimate surfaces and virus viability in a health care emergency unit. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 26(8), 1094.e1-1094.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2020.05.009
Ellen brings over 30 years of experience in architecture, research, and business to leading The Center’s research team. She is a registered architect and member of the American Institute of Architects who was recognized by Healthcare Design as the HCD10 Researcher in 2017, an award recognizing significant contributions to the industry.
Ellen has been responsible for conducting built environment design research, as well as large-scale program management, and extensive cross-departmental coordination. Ellen has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Global Executive MBA degrees from Columbia University and London Business School, and a PhD in design, patient safety and human factors from Loughborough University in England. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Steering Committee for the FGI Health Guidelines Revisions Committee, the Board of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH), and the Editorial Advisory Boards of the Health Environments Research & Design (HERD) Journal and American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC).