SARS-CoV-2 Surface Swabs in Locations With Public Access-Potential for Improved Source Control

Jacob P S Nielsen; Johannes R Madsen; Kamille Fogh; Emma H Mikkelsen; Emil Wolsk; Nikolai S Kirkby; Henning Bundgaard; Kasper Iversen

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofac431

SARS-CoV-2 Surface Swabs in Locations With Public Access-Potential for Improved Source Control

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2022 Aug 29;9(9):ofac431. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofac431. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Authors

Jacob P S Nielsen^{1

2}, Johannes R Madsen^{1

2

3}, Kamille Fogh^{1

2

4}, Emma H Mikkelsen^{1

2

4}, Emil Wolsk^{2

4}, Nikolai S Kirkby^{2

5}, Henning Bundgaard^{2

6}, Kasper Iversen^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
³ Department of Clinical Immunology, Section 7631, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁴ Department of Cardiology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases, Section 8632, Viro-immunology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
⁶ Department of Cardiology, The Heart Center, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

The presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on surfaces at public locations has been minimally described. By swab testing, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces in public locations during the pandemic in February 2022. The viability of SARS-CoV-2 was not tested. Almost 25% of surfaces were positive for SARS-CoV-2; this was most pronounced in supermarkets.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; source control; surface swab; transmission.