Details Of The Survival Time Of The New Coronavirus in The Environment

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Droplet and contact transmission of neo-coronavirus has been shown to be the main route of transmission, but how long can the new coronavirus survive in the environment? It has been the topic of our concern, because the longer the virus survives, the greater the chance of our exposure to infection.

In February 2020 experts from the Health Care Commission stated that it is possible for the virus to survive in the environment for several days if the temperature and humidity are right [1,2]. These statements are not very specific, so are there any relevant studies at home and abroad or not?

I will take you to sort out the recent studies related to the new coronavirus and environmental tolerance.

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1. What is the tolerance of the virus in different environments?

On March 10, the medical preprint platform medRxiv published a study on the survival stability of novel coronaviruses in aerosols and on different surfaces, entitled "Aerosol and surface stability of HCV-19 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to SARS-CoV-2. compared toSARS-CoV-1" [3]. This article has been submitted to the most prestigious medical journal, New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), and the paper has not yet been peer-reviewed.

The figure above represents a comparison of the viability of neo-CoV and SARS coronavirus after fogging, with an ambient temperature of 21-23°C and 65% relative humidity. It was found that the live virus could survive in the aerosol after fogging for 3 hours, with a range of viral activity similar to that of SARS coronavirus.

The researchers also conducted experiments on surfaces of materials that are representative of a variety of living and working environments, including plastic (polypropylene), alloyed stainless steel, copper, and cardboard. The results found that the new coronavirus was most stable on plastic and stainless steel, capable of surviving for up to 72 hours.

The four specific materials showed survival times of copper (3.4 hours) < cardboard (8.45 hours) < stainless steel (13.1 hours) < plastic (15.9 hours).

It is noteworthy that in terms of half-life, the half-life of the new coronavirus was significantly longer than that of the SARS virus on a material surface like cardboard, with a median value of 8.45 hours.

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2. What is the survivability of viruses on other surfaces?

In addition to aerosol, plastic, stainless steel, cardboard, and copper material surfaces, what is the viability of viruses on other material surfaces, such as textile surfaces?

"The NHS website describes that the survival time of a virus after leaving the body depends on the surface of the object it is attached to, as well as environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity."

Overall, viruses survive longer on non-permeable (waterproof) surfaces, such as stainless steel or plastic surfaces; viruses survive for a relatively short time on permeable surfaces such as fibrous fabrics or paper towels.

A 2014 paper published in the American Journal of Infection Control by scientists from multiple countries, including the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and China, examined the duration of survival of influenza A (H1N1) viruses on four common object surfaces.

The researchers conducted multi-point sampling and analysis of wood, stainless steel, plastic, and fabric surfaces in homes.

The results showed that wooden surfaces are the best "breeding ground" for this virus, and the virus can continue to maintain the ability to infect for 48 hours; the survival time of the virus on stainless steel and plastic surfaces is generally about 24 hours; the survival time of the virus attached to the fabric surface is the shortest, and the virus activity will rapidly drop to zero within 8 hours.

Another paper published in 2016 in the American Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology looked more closely at the survival of H1N1 influenza viruses on stainless steel surfaces under different environmental conditions.

The study showed that the influenza virus could survive on the surface of stainless steel for up to 7 days and still have the ability to transmit. This study demonstrates the "very long standby time" of influenza viruses on non-permeable surfaces.

Combined with related research, we can presume that the new coronavirus should have similar characteristics, in the permeable material survival time is much less than in non-permeable materials.

3. Besides contact with surface materials, what factors are associated with viruses in the environment?

Otter et al. (2016) investigated the factors for the survival of viruses with pandemic potential including H1N1, H5N1, and H5N7 influenza viruses, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)/Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses (CoV) on surfaces including viral strain variation, titration, surface type, suspension medium, deposition mode, temperature, and relative humidity,. and the method of measuring virus survival [4].

We learned about surface type in the previous section, and we move on to the effects of temperature and humidity, and virus variation.

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4. What is the effect of temperature and humidity on viruses?

VanDoremalen et al. (2013) study determined the stability of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) at 20°C-40% relative humidity (RH), 30°C-30% RH and 30°C-80% RH.

MERS-CoV was more stable under low temperature and low humidity conditions and still recovered after 48h. During the aerosolization of MERS-CoV, no decrease in stability was observed at 20°C-40% RH [5].

Duan et al. (2003) studied the thermal susceptibility of the SARS virus and found that the virus was stable for at least 2 h at 4°C, 20°C, and 37°C with no significant change in intracellular infectivity, but was non-infectious after 90, 60, and 30 min of exposure at 56°C, 67°C, and 75°C, respectively [6].

In 2010, scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health found that viruses strongly dislike high temperatures and high humidity and that summer is conducive to virus control.

So the results of MERS and SARS coronaviruses, we can similarly speculate that low temperature and low humidity are favorable for the survival of new coronaviruses, and high temperature and high humidity are not favorable for the survival of new coronaviruses.

5. Is there a mutation of the virus that is more likely to spread among humans in the future?

No data related to the study of neo-coronavirus were found, and we refer to the study of the Ebola virus, there is no difference in the stability of the virus in aerosol in 1976 and 2014, both can survive for 180 minutes. At present, there is no evidence that the new coronavirus has the ability to mutate significantly.

6. What should the food industry be aware of?

Combined with the above characteristics of the new coronavirus, we in the food industry should pay attention to the survival time of the new coronavirus in the environment and do a good job of related prevention and control.

Control of high-frequency contact surfaces of personnel.

1) Identify which are our high-frequency contact surfaces, especially non-permeable material contact surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel materials, common door handles, work utensils, tabletops, countertops, etc..

2) disinfection of contact surfaces on a regular basis, for example, using 75% alcohol.

3) diligent hand washing, and recommended gloves for high-risk positions, such as those in contact with stainless steel, plastics, and cardboard boxes.

4) Note the indirect contact transmission of aerosols, do frequent ventilation, air disinfection for confined spaces, no gathering of personnel, etc.

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This article is edited by Wecistanche