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Ahmad Wadi AFA, Onomura D, Funamori H, Khatun MM, Okada S, Iizasa H, Yoshiyama H. Effects of Strain Differences, Humidity Changes, and Saliva Contamination on the Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by Ion Irradiation. Viruses 2024; 16:520. [PMID: 38675863 PMCID: PMC11055001 DOI: 10.3390/v16040520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
One of the methods to inactivate viruses is to denature viral proteins using released ions. However, there have been no reports detailing the effects of changes in humidity or contamination with body fluids on the inactivation of viruses. This study investigated the effects of humidity changes and saliva contamination on the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 inactivation with ions using multiple viral strains. Virus solutions with different infectious titers were dropped onto a circular nitrocellulose membrane and irradiated with ions from 10 cm above the membrane. After the irradiation of ions for 60, 90, and 120 min, changes in viral infectious titers were measured. The effect of ions on virus inactivation under different humidity conditions was also examined using virus solutions containing 90% mixtures of saliva collected from 10 people. A decrease in viral infectivity was observed over time for all strains, but ion irradiation further accelerated the decrease in viral infectivity. Ion irradiation can inactivate all viral strains, but at 80% humidity, the effect did not appear until 90 min after irradiation. The presence of saliva protected the virus from drying and maintained infectiousness for a longer period compared with no saliva. In particular, the Omicron strain retained its infectivity titer longer than the other strains. Ion irradiation demonstrated a consistent reduction in the number of infectious viruses when compared to the control across varying levels of humidity and irradiation periods. This underscores the notable effectiveness of irradiation, even when the reduction effect is as modest as 50%, thereby emphasizing its crucial role in mitigating the rapid dissemination of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Afifah Fatimah Azzahra Ahmad Wadi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya, Izumo 693-8504, Shimane, Japan; (A.F.A.A.W.); (M.M.K.); (S.O.); (H.I.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Muslim Indonesia, Makassar 9023, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
| | - Daichi Onomura
- Division of Virology, Department of Infection and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke 329-0498, Tochigi, Japan;
| | | | - Mst Mahmuda Khatun
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya, Izumo 693-8504, Shimane, Japan; (A.F.A.A.W.); (M.M.K.); (S.O.); (H.I.)
| | - Shunpei Okada
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya, Izumo 693-8504, Shimane, Japan; (A.F.A.A.W.); (M.M.K.); (S.O.); (H.I.)
| | - Hisashi Iizasa
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya, Izumo 693-8504, Shimane, Japan; (A.F.A.A.W.); (M.M.K.); (S.O.); (H.I.)
| | - Hironori Yoshiyama
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya, Izumo 693-8504, Shimane, Japan; (A.F.A.A.W.); (M.M.K.); (S.O.); (H.I.)
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Lin N, Zhang B, Shi R, Gao Y, Wang Z, Ling Z, Tian Y. Decay pattern of SARS-CoV-2 RNA surface contamination in real residences. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6190. [PMID: 38486016 PMCID: PMC10940586 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54445-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided valuable lessons that deserve deep thought to prepare for the future. The decay pattern of surface contamination by SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the residences of COVID-19 patients is important but still unknown. We collected 2,233 surface samples from 21 categories of objects in 141 residences of COVID-19 patients in Shanghai when attacked by the omicron variant in spring 2022. Several characteristics of the patients and their residences were investigated to identify relevant associations. The decay of contamination was explored to determine the persistence. Approximately 8.7% of the surface samples were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The basin, water tap, and sewer inlet had the highest positive rates, all exceeding 20%. Only time was significantly associated with the level of surface contamination with SARS-CoV-2, showing a negative association. The decrease fit a first-order decay model with a decay rate of 0.77 ± 0.07 day-1, suggesting a 90% reduction in three days. Positive associations between the cumulative number of newly diagnosed patients in the same building and the positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the public corridor were significant during the three days. Our results, in conjunction with the likely lower infectivity or viability, demonstrate that fomite transmission played a limited role in COVID-19 spread. The time determined SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination, which was reduced by three days. This study is the first to show the decay patterns of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in real residential environments, providing insight into the patterns of transmission, as well as community-based prevention and control of similar threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Lin
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 280 South Chongqing Rd, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Huangpu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 309 Xietu Rd, Shanghai, 200023, People's Republic of China
| | - Rong Shi
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 280 South Chongqing Rd, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Gao
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 280 South Chongqing Rd, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Zixia Wang
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 280 South Chongqing Rd, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhiyi Ling
- Huangpu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 309 Xietu Rd, Shanghai, 200023, People's Republic of China.
| | - Ying Tian
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 280 South Chongqing Rd, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China.
- MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health, Xin Hua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, People's Republic of China.
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Hossain MP, Zhou W, Leung MYT, Yuan HY. Association of air pollution and weather conditions during infection course with COVID-19 case fatality rate in the United Kingdom. Sci Rep 2024; 14:683. [PMID: 38182658 PMCID: PMC10770173 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50474-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the relationship between the environmental factors, such as weather conditions and air pollution, and COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) has been found, the impacts of these factors to which infected cases are exposed at different infectious stages (e.g., virus exposure time, incubation period, and at or after symptom onset) are still unknown. Understanding this link can help reduce mortality rates. During the first wave of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom (UK), the CFR varied widely between and among the four countries of the UK, allowing such differential impacts to be assessed. We developed a generalized linear mixed-effect model combined with distributed lag nonlinear models to estimate the odds ratio of the weather factors (i.e., temperature, sunlight, relative humidity, and rainfall) and air pollution (i.e., ozone, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) using data between March 26, 2020 and September 15, 2020 in the UK. After retrospectively time adjusted CFR was estimated using back-projection technique, the stepwise model selection method was used to choose the best model based on Akaike information criteria and the closeness between the predicted and observed values of CFR. The risk of death reached its maximum level when the low temperature (6 °C) occurred 1 day before (OR 1.59; 95% CI 1.52-1.63), prolonged sunlight duration (11-14 h) 3 days after (OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.18-1.30) and increased [Formula: see text] (19 μg/m3) 1 day after the onset of symptom (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.09-1.16). After reopening, many COVID-19 cases will be identified after their symptoms appear. The findings highlight the importance of designing different preventive measures against severe illness or death considering the time before and after symptom onset.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Pear Hossain
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
- Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health Limited, Hong Kong Science Park, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
| | - Wen Zhou
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Marco Y T Leung
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hsiang-Yu Yuan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
- Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Regions, China.
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Wang C, Liang S, Bai L, Gu X, Jin X, Ok YS, Gu C. Photoaging of Typical Microplastics as Affected by Air Humidity: Mechanistic Insights into the Important Role of Water Molecules. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:5967-5977. [PMID: 36991324 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c08571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies showed that land is the most important sink for microplastics (MPs); however, limited information is available on the photoaging processes of land surface MPs that are exposed to the air. Herein, this study developed two in situ spectroscopic methods to systematically explore the effect of air humidity on MP photoaging using a microscope of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and a laser Raman microscope, which were equipped with a humidity control system. Polyethylene microplastics, polystyrene microplastics, and poly(vinyl chloride) microplastics (PVC-MPs) were used as model MPs. Our results showed that relative humidity (RH) could significantly influence the MP surface oxygen-containing moieties generated from photo-oxidation, especially for PVC-MPs. As the RH level varied from 10 to 90%, a decrease in the photogenerated carbonyl group and an increase in the hydroxyl group were observed. This could be attributed to the involvement of water molecules in the production of hydroxyl groups, which subsequently inhibited carbonyl generation. Moreover, the adsorption of coexisting contaminants (i.e., tetracycline) on photoaged MPs exhibited strong RH dependence, which could be assigned to the varied hydrogen bonding between tetracycline carbonyls and aged MP surface hydroxyls. This study reveals a ubiquitous but previously overlooked MP aging route, which may account for the changed MP surface physiochemical properties under solar irradiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Sijia Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Lihua Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Xinyue Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Xin Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
| | - Yong Sik Ok
- Korea Biochar Research Center, APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program and Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Cheng Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, P. R. China
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Nottmeyer L, Armstrong B, Lowe R, Abbott S, Meakin S, O'Reilly KM, von Borries R, Schneider R, Royé D, Hashizume M, Pascal M, Tobias A, Vicedo-Cabrera AM, Lavigne E, Correa PM, Ortega NV, Kynčl J, Urban A, Orru H, Ryti N, Jaakkola J, Dallavalle M, Schneider A, Honda Y, Ng CFS, Alahmad B, Carrasco-Escobar G, Holobâc IH, Kim H, Lee W, Íñiguez C, Bell ML, Zanobetti A, Schwartz J, Scovronick N, Coélho MDSZS, Saldiva PHN, Diaz MH, Gasparrini A, Sera F. The association of COVID-19 incidence with temperature, humidity, and UV radiation - A global multi-city analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 854:158636. [PMID: 36087670 PMCID: PMC9450475 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM The associations between COVID-19 transmission and meteorological factors are scientifically debated. Several studies have been conducted worldwide, with inconsistent findings. However, often these studies had methodological issues, e.g., did not exclude important confounding factors, or had limited geographic or temporal resolution. Our aim was to quantify associations between temporal variations in COVID-19 incidence and meteorological variables globally. METHODS We analysed data from 455 cities across 20 countries from 3 February to 31 October 2020. We used a time-series analysis that assumes a quasi-Poisson distribution of the cases and incorporates distributed lag non-linear modelling for the exposure associations at the city-level while considering effects of autocorrelation, long-term trends, and day of the week. The confounding by governmental measures was accounted for by incorporating the Oxford Governmental Stringency Index. The effects of daily mean air temperature, relative and absolute humidity, and UV radiation were estimated by applying a meta-regression of local estimates with multi-level random effects for location, country, and climatic zone. RESULTS We found that air temperature and absolute humidity influenced the spread of COVID-19 over a lag period of 15 days. Pooling the estimates globally showed that overall low temperatures (7.5 °C compared to 17.0 °C) and low absolute humidity (6.0 g/m3 compared to 11.0 g/m3) were associated with higher COVID-19 incidence (RR temp =1.33 with 95%CI: 1.08; 1.64 and RR AH =1.33 with 95%CI: 1.12; 1.57). RH revealed no significant trend and for UV some evidence of a positive association was found. These results were robust to sensitivity analysis. However, the study results also emphasise the heterogeneity of these associations in different countries. CONCLUSION Globally, our results suggest that comparatively low temperatures and low absolute humidity were associated with increased risks of COVID-19 incidence. However, this study underlines regional heterogeneity of weather-related effects on COVID-19 transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luise Nottmeyer
- Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Ben Armstrong
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Rachel Lowe
- Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sam Abbott
- Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Sophie Meakin
- Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Kathleen M O'Reilly
- Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | | | - Rochelle Schneider
- Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Φ-Lab, European Space Agency, Frascati, Italy; European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF), Reading, UK
| | - Dominic Royé
- Department of Geography, University of Santiago de Compostela, CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Spain
| | - Masahiro Hashizume
- Department of Paediatric Infectious Disease, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan; School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mathilde Pascal
- Santé Publique France, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, French National Public Health Agency, Saint Maurice, France
| | - Aurelio Tobias
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Japan; Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera
- Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Eric Lavigne
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | | | - Jan Kynčl
- Department of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Aleš Urban
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Hans Orru
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Niilo Ryti
- Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Jouni Jaakkola
- Center for Environmental and Respiratory Health Research (CERH), University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Marco Dallavalle
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany; Department of Epidemiology, Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Alexandra Schneider
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Yasushi Honda
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Japan; Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan; Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Chris Fook Sheng Ng
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Global Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Barrak Alahmad
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, USA
| | - Gabriel Carrasco-Escobar
- Health Innovation Laboratory, Institute of Tropical Medicine "Alexander von Humboldt", Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | | | - Ho Kim
- Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health & Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Whanhee Lee
- School of Biomedical Convergence Engineering, College of Information and Biomedical Engineering, Pusan National University, Yangsan, South Korea
| | - Carmen Íñiguez
- Department of Statistics and Computational Research, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Michelle L Bell
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Antonella Zanobetti
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, USA
| | - Joel Schwartz
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, USA
| | - Noah Scovronick
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | | | | | - Magali Hurtado Diaz
- Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Antonio Gasparrini
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Centre for Statistical Methodology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Francesco Sera
- Department of Statistics, Computer Science and Applications "G. Parenti", University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
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