Exploring indoor and outdoor dust as a potential tool for detection and monitoring of COVID-19 transmission

Suparinthon Anupong; Sudarat Chadsuthi; Parichart Hongsing; Cameron Hurst; Phatthranit Phattharapornjaroen; Ali Hosseini Rad S M; Stefan Fernandez; Angkana T Huang; Porames Vatanaprasan; Thammakorn Saethang; Sirirat Luk-In; Robin James Storer; Puey Ounjai; Naveen Kumar Devanga Ragupathi; Phitsanuruk Kanthawee; Natharin Ngamwongsatit; Vishnu Nayak Badavath; Wanwara Thuptimdang; Asada Leelahavanichkul; Talerngsak Kanjanabuch; Kazuhiko Miyanaga; Longzhu Cui; Asuka Nanbo; Kenji Shibuya; Rosalyn Kupwiwat; Daisuke Sano; Takashi Furukawa; Kazunari Sei; Paul G Higgins; Anthony Kicic; Andrew C Singer; Tanittha Chatsuwan; Sam Trowsdale; Shuichi Abe; Hitoshi Ishikawa; Mohan Amarasiri; Charin Modchang; Dhammika Leshan Wannigama

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109043

Exploring indoor and outdoor dust as a potential tool for detection and monitoring of COVID-19 transmission

iScience. 2024 Jan 26;27(3):109043. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109043. eCollection 2024 Mar 15.

Authors

Suparinthon Anupong¹, Sudarat Chadsuthi², Parichart Hongsing^{3

4}, Cameron Hurst^{5

6}, Phatthranit Phattharapornjaroen^{7

8}, Ali Hosseini Rad S M^{9

10}, Stefan Fernandez¹¹, Angkana T Huang^{11

12}, Porames Vatanaprasan⁷, Thammakorn Saethang¹³, Sirirat Luk-In¹⁴, Robin James Storer¹⁵, Puey Ounjai¹⁶, Naveen Kumar Devanga Ragupathi^{17

18

19}, Phitsanuruk Kanthawee²⁰, Natharin Ngamwongsatit²¹, Vishnu Nayak Badavath²², Wanwara Thuptimdang²³, Asada Leelahavanichkul^{24

25}, Talerngsak Kanjanabuch^{26

27

28

29}, Kazuhiko Miyanaga³⁰, Longzhu Cui³⁰, Asuka Nanbo³¹, Kenji Shibuya³², Rosalyn Kupwiwat³³, Daisuke Sano^{34

35}, Takashi Furukawa³⁶, Kazunari Sei³⁶, Paul G Higgins^{37

38}, Anthony Kicic^{39

40

41

42}, Andrew C Singer⁴³, Tanittha Chatsuwan^{24

44}, Sam Trowsdale⁴⁵, Shuichi Abe⁴⁶, Hitoshi Ishikawa⁴⁷, Mohan Amarasiri³⁶, Charin Modchang^{1

48

49}, Dhammika Leshan Wannigama^{18

24

44

46

47

50

51}

Affiliations

¹ Biophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
² Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand.
³ Mae Fah Luang University Hospital, Chiang Rai, Thailand.
⁴ School of Integrative Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand.
⁵ Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, Charles Darwin University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁶ Statistics, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁷ Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁸ Institute of Clinical Sciences, Department of Surgery, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, Otago 9010, New Zealand.
¹⁰ Center of Excellence in Immunology and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
¹¹ Department of Virology, U.S. Army Medical Directorate, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand.
¹² Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
¹³ Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
¹⁴ Department of Clinical Microbiology and Applied Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
¹⁵ Office of Research Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
¹⁶ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
¹⁷ Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁸ Biofilms and Antimicrobial Resistance Consortium of ODA Receiving Countries, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁹ Division of Microbial Interactions, Department of Research and Development, Bioberrys Healthcare and Research Centre, Vellore 632009, India.
²⁰ Public Health Major, School of Health Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
²¹ Department of Clinical Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
²² School of Pharmacy & Technology Management, SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Hyderabad 509301, India.
²³ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand.
²⁴ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand.
²⁵ Translational Research in Inflammation and Immunology Research Unit (TRIRU), Department of Microbiology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
²⁶ Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
²⁷ Center of Excellence in Kidney Metabolic Disorders, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
²⁸ Dialysis Policy and Practice Program (DiP3), School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
²⁹ Peritoneal Dialysis Excellence Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.
³⁰ Division of Bacteriology, School of Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
³¹ The National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
³² Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
³³ Department of Dermatology. Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital. Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
³⁴ Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
³⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
³⁶ Laboratory of Environmental Hygiene, Department of Health Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kitasato University, Minato City, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan.
³⁷ Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
³⁸ German Centre for Infection Research, Partner Site Bonn-Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
³⁹ Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA 6009, Australia.
⁴⁰ Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, Medical School, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia.
⁴¹ Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands WA 6009, Australia.
⁴² School of Population Health, Curtin University, Bentley WA 6102, Australia.
⁴³ UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK.
⁴⁴ Center of Excellence in Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
⁴⁵ Department of Environmental Science, University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
⁴⁶ Department of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital, Yamagata, Japan.
⁴⁷ Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Kamiyanagi, Yamagata 990-2212, Japan.
⁴⁸ Centre of Excellence in Mathematics, MHESI, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
⁴⁹ Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
⁵⁰ School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
⁵¹ Pathogen Hunter's Research Collaborative Team, Department of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital, Yamagata, Japan.

Abstract

This study investigated the potential of using SARS-CoV-2 viral concentrations in dust as an additional surveillance tool for early detection and monitoring of COVID-19 transmission. Dust samples were collected from 8 public locations in 16 districts of Bangkok, Thailand, from June to August 2021. SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in dust were quantified, and their correlation with community case incidence was assessed. Our findings revealed a positive correlation between viral concentrations detected in dust and the relative risk of COVID-19. The highest risk was observed with no delay (0-day lag), and this risk gradually decreased as the lag time increased. We observed an overall decline in viral concentrations in public places during lockdown, closely associated with reduced human mobility. The effective reproduction number for COVID-19 transmission remained above one throughout the study period, suggesting that transmission may persist in locations beyond public areas even after the lockdown measures were in place.

Keywords: Environmental biotechnology; Virology.