This is especially important in hospital settings where nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious pathogens continue to pose a risk to vulnerable populations and healthcare workers ( 8– 10). However, frequent testing to identify infected individuals remains a cornerstone in curbing community transmission and has been modeled to be an effective intervention for countries transitioning toward endemicity ( 7). In response, most regions have transitioned away from a zero COVID-19 strategy toward endemicity by opening borders and relaxing social distancing measures. In addition, the potential airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has further hampered efforts to stem its circulation worldwide ( 5, 6). Implementation of public health control measures since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, including mass testing, contact tracing, border controls, quarantine, safe distancing, enhanced cleaning, and mass vaccination, while important, could not achieve sustained elimination of SARS-CoV-2 ( 2– 4). Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), has profoundly disrupted life globally since December 2019 ( 1). Findings from this study can also be applied in an organism agnostic manner for surveillance in the hospital, improving our ability to contain and prevent nosocomial outbreaks. The device also showed that it can identify minute quantities of SARS-CoV-2 in designated “clean areas” and through a N95 mask, indicating good surveillance capacity and sensitivity of the device in hospital settings.Ĭonclusion: Active air sampling was shown to be a sensitive surveillance system in healthcare settings. Results: When combined with RT-qPCR detection, we found the device provided consistent SARS-CoV-2 detection, compared to surface sampling, in as little as 2 h of sampling time. Methods: We conducted air sampling in a hospital environment using the AerosolSense TM air sampling device and compared it with surface swabs for their capacity to detect SARS-CoV-2. We evaluated the effectiveness of an active air sampling device as a potential surveillance system in detecting hospital pathogens, for augmenting containment measures to prevent nosocomial transmission, using SARS-CoV-2 as a surrogate. Aerial sampling has evolved from passive impact filters to active sampling using negative pressure to expose culture substrate for virus detection. 7Collaborative and Translation Unit for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singaporeīackground and objectives: The high transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 has exposed weaknesses in our infection control and detection measures, particularly in healthcare settings.6Department of Emergency Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.5Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.4Department of Otolaryngology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.3Infectious Disease Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.1Biosafety Level 3 Core Facility, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. Kai Sen Tan 1,2,3,4 * †, Alicia Xin Yu Ang 5 †, Douglas Jie Wen Tay 1,2,3 †, Jyoti Somani 5, Alexander Jet Yue Ng 6, Li Lee Peng 6, Justin Jang Hann Chu 1,2,3,7, Paul Anantharajah Tambyah 3,5 and David Michael Allen 3,5 *
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