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Cooper DK, Sobolik JS, Kovacevic J, Rock CM, Sajewski ET, Guest JL, Lopman BA, Jaykus LA, Leon JS. Combined Infection Control Interventions Protect Essential Food Workers from Occupational Exposures to SARS-CoV-2 in the Agricultural Environment. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0012823. [PMID: 37310232 PMCID: PMC10370312 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00128-23] [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: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Essential food workers experience elevated risks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to prolonged occupational exposures in food production and processing areas, shared transportation (car or bus), and employer-provided shared housing. Our goal was to quantify the daily cumulative risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection for healthy susceptible produce workers and to evaluate the relative reduction in risk attributable to food industry interventions and vaccination. We simulated daily SARS-CoV-2 exposures of indoor and outdoor produce workers through six linked quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model scenarios. For each scenario, the infectious viral dose emitted by a symptomatic worker was calculated across aerosol, droplet, and fomite-mediated transmission pathways. Standard industry interventions (2-m physical distancing, handwashing, surface disinfection, universal masking, ventilation) were simulated to assess relative risk reductions from baseline risk (no interventions, 1-m distance). Implementation of industry interventions reduced an indoor worker's relative infection risk by 98.0% (0.020; 95% uncertainty interval [UI], 0.005 to 0.104) from baseline risk (1.00; 95% UI, 0.995 to 1.00) and an outdoor worker's relative infection risk by 94.5% (0.027; 95% UI, 0.013 to 0.055) from baseline risk (0.487; 95% UI, 0.257 to 0.825). Integrating these interventions with two-dose mRNA vaccinations (86 to 99% efficacy), representing a worker's protective immunity to infection, reduced the relative infection risk from baseline for indoor workers by 99.9% (0.001; 95% UI, 0.0002 to 0.005) and outdoor workers by 99.6% (0.002; 95% UI, 0.0003 to 0.005). Consistent implementation of combined industry interventions, paired with vaccination, effectively mitigates the elevated risks from occupationally acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection faced by produce workers. IMPORTANCE This is the first study to estimate the daily risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection across a variety of indoor and outdoor environmental settings relevant to food workers (e.g., shared transportation [car or bus], enclosed produce processing facility and accompanying breakroom, outdoor produce harvesting field, shared housing facility) through a linked quantitative microbial risk assessment framework. Our model has demonstrated that the elevated daily SARS-CoV-2 infection risk experienced by indoor and outdoor produce workers can be reduced below 1% when vaccinations (optimal vaccine efficacy, 86 to 99%) are implemented with recommended infection control strategies (e.g., handwashing, surface disinfection, universal masking, physical distancing, and increased ventilation). Our novel findings provide scenario-specific infection risk estimates that can be utilized by food industry managers to target high-risk scenarios with effective infection mitigation strategies, which was informed through more realistic and context-driven modeling estimates of the infection risk faced by essential food workers daily. Bundled interventions, particularly if they include vaccination, yield significant reductions (>99%) in daily SARS-CoV-2 infection risk for essential food workers in enclosed and open-air environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Kane Cooper
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Julia S. Sobolik
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Jovana Kovacevic
- Food Innovation Center, Oregon State University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Channah M. Rock
- Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Jodie L. Guest
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Ben A. Lopman
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Lee-Ann Jaykus
- Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Juan S. Leon
- Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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Haji Ali B, Shahin MS, Masoumi Sangani MM, Faghihinezhad M, Baghdadi M. Wastewater aerosols produced during flushing toilets, WWTPs, and irrigation with reclaimed municipal wastewater as indirect exposure to SARS-CoV-2. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 2021; 9:106201. [PMID: 34405082 PMCID: PMC8361049 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.106201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw and treated wastewater can open up a fresh perspective to waterborne and aerosolized wastewater as a new transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 RNA during the current pandemic. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater aerosols formed during toilet flushing, plumbing failure, wastewater treatment plants, and municipal wastewater reuse for irrigation. Moreover, how these aerosols might increase the risk of exposure to this novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 RNA). This article supplies a review of the literature on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in untreated wastewater, as well as the fate and stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. We also reviewed the existing literatures on generation and transmission of aerosolized wastewater through flush a toilet, house's plumbing networks, WWTPs, wastewater reuse for irrigation of agricultural areas. Finally, the article briefly studies the potential risk of infection with exposure to the fecal bioaerosols of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for the people who might be exposed through flushing toilets or faulty building plumbing systems, operators/workers in wastewater treatment plants, and workers of fields irrigated with treated wastewater - based on current knowledge. Although this review highlights the indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2 RNA through wastewater aerosols, no research has yet clearly demonstrated the role of aerosolized wastewater in disease transmission regarding the continuation of this pandemic. Therefore, there is a need for additional studies on wastewater aerosols in transmission of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Banafsheh Haji Ali
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | - Mohsen Faghihinezhad
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Baghdadi
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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Akter S, Roy PC, Ferdaus A, Ibnat H, Alam ASMRU, Nigar S, Jahid IK, Hossain MA. Prevalence and stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on Bangladeshi banknotes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 779:146133. [PMID: 33740558 PMCID: PMC9752560 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Originating in December 2019 in China, SARS-CoV-2 has emerged as the deadliest pandemic in humankind's history. Along with direct contact and droplet contaminations, the possibility of infections through contaminated surfaces and fomites is investigating. This study aims to assess SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA's prevalence by real-time one-step reverse transcriptase PCR on banknotes circulating in Bangladesh. We also evaluated the persistence of the virus on banknotes spiked with SARS-CoV-2 positive diluted human nasopharyngeal samples. Among the 425 banknote samples collected from different entities, 7.29% (n = 31) were tested positive for targeted genes. Twenty-four positive representative samples were assessed for n gene fragments by conventional PCR and sequenced. All the samples that carry viral RNA belonged to the GR clade, the predominantly circulating clade in Bangladesh. In the stability test, the n gene was detected for up to 72 h on banknotes spiked with nasopharyngeal samples, and CT values increase significantly with time (p < 0.05). orf1b gene was observed to be less stable, especially on old banknotes, and usually went beyond detectable limit within 8 to 10 h. The stability of virus RNA well fitted by the Weibull model and concave curve for new banknotes and convex curve for old banknotes revealed. Handling banknotes is unavoidable; hence, these findings imply that proper hygiene practice is needed to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission through banknotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selina Akter
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
| | - Pravas Chandra Roy
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
| | - Amina Ferdaus
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
| | - Habiba Ibnat
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh
| | - A S M Rubayet Ul Alam
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
| | - Shireen Nigar
- Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
| | - Iqbal Kabir Jahid
- Department of Microbiology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh.
| | - M Anwar Hossain
- Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, Bangladesh; Department of Microbiology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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Sharma A, Preece B, Swann H, Fan X, McKenney RJ, Ori-McKenney KM, Saffarian S, Vershinin MD. Structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles degrades with temperature. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 534:343-346. [PMID: 33272571 PMCID: PMC7699159 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.11.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Other known coronaviruses show a strong pattern of seasonality, with the infection cases in humans being more prominent in winter. Although several plausible origins of such seasonal variability have been proposed, its mechanism is unclear. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via airborne droplets ejected from the upper respiratory tract of the infected individuals. It has been reported that SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious for hours on surfaces. As such, the stability of viral particles both in liquid droplets as well as dried on surfaces is essential for infectivity. Here we have used atomic force microscopy to examine the structural stability of individual SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles at different temperatures. We demonstrate that even a mild temperature increase, commensurate with what is common for summer warming, leads to dramatic disruption of viral structural stability, especially when the heat is applied in the dry state. This is consistent with other existing non-mechanistic studies of viral infectivity, provides a single particle perspective on viral seasonality, and strengthens the case for a resurgence of COVID-19 in winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sharma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - B Preece
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - H Swann
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - X Fan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - R J McKenney
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - K M Ori-McKenney
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - S Saffarian
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
| | - M D Vershinin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Center for Cell and Genome Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
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Sharma A, Preece B, Swann H, Fan X, McKenney RJ, Ori-McKenney KM, Saffarian S, Vershinin MD. Structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 degrades with temperature. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2020:2020.10.12.336818. [PMID: 33083798 PMCID: PMC7574253 DOI: 10.1101/2020.10.12.336818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Other known coronaviruses show a strong pattern of seasonality, with the infection cases in humans being more prominent in winter. Although several plausible origins of such seasonal variability have been proposed, its mechanism is unclear. SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via airborne droplets ejected from the upper respiratory tract of the infected individuals. It has been reported that SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious for hours on surfaces. As such, the stability of viral particles both in liquid droplets as well as dried on surfaces is essential for infectivity. Here we have used atomic force microscopy to examine the structural stability of individual SARS-CoV-2 virus like particles at different temperatures. We demonstrate that even a mild temperature increase, commensurate with what is common for summer warming, leads to dramatic disruption of viral structural stability, especially when the heat is applied in the dry state. This is consistent with other existing non-mechanistic studies of viral infectivity, provides a single particle perspective on viral seasonality, and strengthens the case for a resurgence of COVID-19 in winter. STATEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE The economic and public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are very significant. However scientific information needed to underpin policy decisions are limited partly due to novelty of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. There is therefore an urgent need for mechanistic studies of both COVID-19 disease and the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We show that individual virus particles suffer structural destabilization at relatively mild but elevated temperatures. Our nanoscale results are consistent with recent observations at larger scales. Our work strengthens the case for COVID-19 resurgence in winter.
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