Deposition of respiratory virus pathogens on frequently touched surfaces at airports

Ikonen, Niina; Savolainen-Kopra, Carita; Enstone, Joanne E.; Kulmala, Ilpo; Pasanen, Pertti; Salmela, Anniina; Salo, Satu; Nguyen-Van-Tam, Jonathan S.; Ruutu, Petri

The presence of viral RNA of pathogens frequently circulating in the community during the sampling period is not unexpected, as many viruses survive on surfaces for extended periods [32, 34] and viral nucleic acid can be detected for longer than the time for which viability and transmissibility may persist [35] . Influenza A virus has been reported to survive for 24-48 h on non-porous and up to 8-12 h on porous surfaces [32, 33] . For human rhinoviruses, survival times of infective virus and viral RNA have been reported as > 24 h and > 48 h, respectively [20] . Results for survival times for coronavirus on surfaces vary; one investigation found SARS could not be recovered from dried paper, suggesting its survival time was limited [36] . However, findings from other studies indicate survival times for SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can be much longer, depending on the surface [35] . In a hospital setting in Taiwan, where there was a significant outbreak of SARS, PCR results indicated the presence of SARS on a variety of surfaces suggesting surface contamination should be considered a risk; however no viable virus was cultured [37] . Similarly, in Toronto surface samples in a hospital were positive by PCR for SARS [38] . MERS-CoV has been shown to remain viable on surfaces for longer than influenza A(H1N1) virus [39] .