Indoor Dust as a Matrix for Surveillance of COVID-19
Nicole Renninger, Nicholas Nastasi, Ashleigh Bope, Samuel J. Cochran, Sarah R. Haines, Neeraja Balasubrahmaniam, Katelyn Stuart, Aaron Bivins, Kyle Bibby, Natalie M. Hull, Karen C. Dannemiller
Abstract
Environmental surveillance to assess pathogen presence within a community is proving to be a critical tool to protect public health, and it is especially relevant during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, environmental surveillance tools also allow for the detection of asymptomatic disease carriers and for routine monitoring of a large number of people as has been shown for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring. However, additional monitoring techniques are needed to screen for outbreaks in high-risk settings such as congregate care facilities. Here, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 can be detected in bulk floor dust collected from rooms housing infected individuals. This analysis suggests that dust may be a useful and efficient matrix for routine surveillance of viral disease.