Possible SARS-CoV-2 Transmission by Fecal Aerosol in High-Rise Building in China

Detailed epidemiologic and environmental investigation documents how fecal aerosol could be a transmission pathway in vertically aligned flats in a high-rise building.

In 2003, fecal aerosol transmission was suspected in an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a high-rise complex in Hong Kong (NEJM JW Infect Dis Jun 2004 and N Engl J Med 2004; 350:1731). Given that viable SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated from feces, investigators examined whether similar spread could occur with COVID-19. They assessed nine temporally linked confirmed COVID-19 cases from a 29-story building in Guangzhou, China. The investigators considered dates of symptom onset, travel, locations of infected individuals, the building floor plan and drainage system, and closed-circuit television records of elevator usage. They tested samples from residents, air, and environmental surfaces and used tracer gas to test airflow …

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Possible SARS-CoV-2 Transmission by Fecal Aerosol in High-Rise Building in China

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Reviewing Author