Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study
Background: Healthcare facilities remain at risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks. Proactive surveillance strategies can potentially mitigate the risk of these outbreaks. Objective: To determine whether results from the environmental detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Cor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Virology Plus |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667038024000243 |
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| author | Hania Siddiqui Alexandra M.A. Hicks Aaron Hinz Prachi Ray Jennie Johnstone Derek R. MacFadden Jason A. Moggridge Michael Fralick |
| author_facet | Hania Siddiqui Alexandra M.A. Hicks Aaron Hinz Prachi Ray Jennie Johnstone Derek R. MacFadden Jason A. Moggridge Michael Fralick |
| author_sort | Hania Siddiqui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Healthcare facilities remain at risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks. Proactive surveillance strategies can potentially mitigate the risk of these outbreaks. Objective: To determine whether results from the environmental detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from floor swabs could be provided to the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) team in near real-time. Methods: We conducted a 9-week prospective study at a rehabilitation hospital in Toronto, Canada. Beginning in October 2023, we swabbed the hallways and adjoining areas of one of the floors of the hospital. This floor consisted of two separate units: the Medical Rehab Unit and the Transitional Care Unit, each accommodating 32 patients. Swabs were assayed for SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results from the floor swabs, including percentage positivity for SARS-CoV-2 and number of viral RNA copies, were sent to the hospital's infection control team twice-weekly. Number of patients with COVID-19, confirmed and suspected COVID-19 outbreaks, and acute transfers to another hospital were recorded over the study duration. Results: A total of 465 swabs were collected, and 232 (50%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The turnaround time from floor swabbing to the results being provided to IPAC ranged from 1–6 days with an average turnaround time of 1.9 days (interquartile range: 1 to 2 days). Swab positivity in the Medical Rehab Unit (65%, 95% CI: 58–71%) was significantly greater than the Transitional Care Unit (38%, 95% CI: 32–44%). During the study period there were 4 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 on the Medical Rehab Unit and none on the Transitional Care Unit. There was one suspected COVID-19 outbreak on the Medical Rehab Unit: three COVID-19 cases were identified within six days; all patients on the unit were tested for COVID-19; no further cases were identified and no outbreak was declared. During the suspected outbreak, the percentage of floor swabs positive for SARS-CoV-2 peaked, at 100% in the Medical Rehab Unit. Conclusion: Floor swabs were provided to IPAC in almost real-time; however, delays in shipments in some instances led to delays in the results being made available. Larger studies over an extended timeframe are needed to better understand whether environmental surveillance can aid IPAC decision-making. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1d6cfe929c5f4a4389412b8769a82aeb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2667-0380 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Virology Plus |
| spelling | doaj-art-1d6cfe929c5f4a4389412b8769a82aeb2025-02-08T05:01:32ZengElsevierJournal of Clinical Virology Plus2667-03802025-02-0151100199Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective studyHania Siddiqui0Alexandra M.A. Hicks1Aaron Hinz2Prachi Ray3Jennie Johnstone4Derek R. MacFadden5Jason A. Moggridge6Michael Fralick7Department of Medicine, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, Sinai Health System, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Corresponding author at: Sinai Health System, 60 Murray Street, M5T 3L9, Canada.Background: Healthcare facilities remain at risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks. Proactive surveillance strategies can potentially mitigate the risk of these outbreaks. Objective: To determine whether results from the environmental detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from floor swabs could be provided to the Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) team in near real-time. Methods: We conducted a 9-week prospective study at a rehabilitation hospital in Toronto, Canada. Beginning in October 2023, we swabbed the hallways and adjoining areas of one of the floors of the hospital. This floor consisted of two separate units: the Medical Rehab Unit and the Transitional Care Unit, each accommodating 32 patients. Swabs were assayed for SARS-CoV-2 by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results from the floor swabs, including percentage positivity for SARS-CoV-2 and number of viral RNA copies, were sent to the hospital's infection control team twice-weekly. Number of patients with COVID-19, confirmed and suspected COVID-19 outbreaks, and acute transfers to another hospital were recorded over the study duration. Results: A total of 465 swabs were collected, and 232 (50%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The turnaround time from floor swabbing to the results being provided to IPAC ranged from 1–6 days with an average turnaround time of 1.9 days (interquartile range: 1 to 2 days). Swab positivity in the Medical Rehab Unit (65%, 95% CI: 58–71%) was significantly greater than the Transitional Care Unit (38%, 95% CI: 32–44%). During the study period there were 4 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 on the Medical Rehab Unit and none on the Transitional Care Unit. There was one suspected COVID-19 outbreak on the Medical Rehab Unit: three COVID-19 cases were identified within six days; all patients on the unit were tested for COVID-19; no further cases were identified and no outbreak was declared. During the suspected outbreak, the percentage of floor swabs positive for SARS-CoV-2 peaked, at 100% in the Medical Rehab Unit. Conclusion: Floor swabs were provided to IPAC in almost real-time; however, delays in shipments in some instances led to delays in the results being made available. Larger studies over an extended timeframe are needed to better understand whether environmental surveillance can aid IPAC decision-making.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667038024000243Coronavirus diseaseInfection prevention and controlVirus surveillanceEnvironmental surveillance |
| spellingShingle | Hania Siddiqui Alexandra M.A. Hicks Aaron Hinz Prachi Ray Jennie Johnstone Derek R. MacFadden Jason A. Moggridge Michael Fralick Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study Journal of Clinical Virology Plus Coronavirus disease Infection prevention and control Virus surveillance Environmental surveillance |
| title | Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study |
| title_full | Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study |
| title_fullStr | Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study |
| title_short | Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for outbreak detection in hospital: A single centre prospective study |
| title_sort | environmental surveillance of sars cov 2 for outbreak detection in hospital a single centre prospective study |
| topic | Coronavirus disease Infection prevention and control Virus surveillance Environmental surveillance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667038024000243 |
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