Study on the decay characteristics and transmission risk of respiratory viruses on the surface of objects

Luyao Guo; Zhao Yang; Lei Guo; Linlin Chen; Zhu Cheng; Li Zhang; Enshen Long

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.110716

Study on the decay characteristics and transmission risk of respiratory viruses on the surface of objects

Environ Res. 2021 Mar:194:110716. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.110716. Epub 2021 Jan 6.

Authors

Luyao Guo¹, Zhao Yang¹, Lei Guo², Linlin Chen², Zhu Cheng¹, Li Zhang³, Enshen Long⁴

Affiliations

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ Department of Solid Waste Treatment Technology, Sichuan Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Pollution Control for Heavy Metals, Sichuan Academy of Environmental Sciences, Chengdu, China.
⁴ MOE Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Engineering, College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: longes2@scu.edu.cn.

Abstract

The complex and changeable environment is a brand-new living condition for the viruses and pathogens released by the infected people to the indoor air or deposited on the surface of objects, which is an important external condition affecting the decay and transmission risk of the viruses. Exposure to contaminated surfaces is one of the main routes of respiratory diseases transmission. Therefore, it is very important for epidemic prevention and control to study the law of virus decay and the environmental coupling effect on various surfaces. Based on the analysis of the influencing mechanism, a large amount of experimental evidence on the survival of viruses on the surface of objects were excavated in this paper, and the effects of various factors, such as surface peripheral temperature, relative humidity, virus-containing droplet volume, surface materials and virus types, on the decay rate constants of viruses were comprehensively analyzed. It was found that although the experimental methods, virus types and experimental conditions varied widely in different experiments, the virus concentrations on the surface of objects all followed the exponential decay law, and the coupling effect of various factors was reflected in the decay rate constant k. Under different experimental conditions, k values ranged from 0.001 to 100 h^-1, with a difference of 5 orders of magnitude, corresponding to the characteristic time t₉₉ between 500 and 0.1 h when the virus concentration decreased by 99%. This indicates a large variation in the risk of virus transmission in different scenarios. By revealing the common law and individuality of the virus decay on the surface of objects, the essential relationship between the experimental observation phenomenon and virus decay was analyzed. This paper points out the huge difference in virus transmission risk on the surface at different time nodes, and discusses the prevention and control strategies to grasp the main contradictions in the different situations.

Keywords: Decay rate constant; Infectivity; Surface contamination; Survival; Transmission risk.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Climate
Humans
Humidity
Temperature
Viruses*