Background The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has spread rapidly worldwide and disease prevention is more important than ever. In the absence of a vaccine, knowledge of the transmission routes and risk areas of infection remain the most important existing tools to prevent further spread. Methods Here we investigated the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment at the Uppsala University Hospital Infectious Disease ward by RT-qPCR and determined the infectivity of the detected virus in vitro on Vero E6 cells. Results SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in several areas, although attempts to infect Vero E6 cells with positive samples were unsuccessful. However, RNase A treatment of positive samples prior to RNA extraction did not degrade viral RNA, indicating the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsids or complete virus particles protecting the RNA as opposed to free viral RNA. Conclusion Our results show that even in places where a moderate concentration (Ct values between 30 and 38) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found; no infectious virus could be detected. This suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital environment subsides in two states; as infectious and as non-infectious. Future work should investigate the reasons for the non-infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 virions. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12985-021-01556-6.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, viral infectivity, environmental sampling, RNase A, In vitro infection, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, Vaccine, knowledge, SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, hospital, Infection, risk, SARS-CoV-2 virus, Infectious disease, in vitro, virus, RNA, Spread, RNA extraction, RT-qPCR, Hospital environment, Viral, qPCR, transmission route, VERO E6 cells, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Viral RNA, infectious, Vero E6 cell, disease, moderate, RNase, Transmission routes, Concentration, Infectious virus, Ct values, Vero E6, supplementary material, future work, SARS-CoV-2 virions, SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid, non-infectious, positive sample, infect, Future, Complete, Prevent, Result, investigated, virus particle, absence, degrade, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, Uppsala University, 【제목키워드】 hospital,