Comparative Aerosol and Surface Stability of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern
Trenton Bushmaker, Claude Kwe Yinda, Dylan H. Morris, Myndi G. Holbrook, Amandine Gamble, Danielle R. Adney, Cara Bushmaker, Neeltje van Doremalen, Robert J. Fischer, Raina K. Plowright, James O. Lloyd‐Smith, Vincent J. Munster
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 transmits principally by air; contact and fomite transmission may also occur. Variants of concern are more transmissible than ancestral SARS-CoV-2. We found indications of possible increased aerosol and surface stability for early variants of concern, but not for the Delta and Omicron variants. Stability changes are unlikely to explain increased transmissibility.
Topics & Concepts
Transmissibility (structural dynamics)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakAerosolVirologyTransmission (telecommunications)Airborne transmissionBiologySars virusMedicineGeographyMeteorologyDiseaseOutbreakInfectious disease (medical specialty)PathologyElectrical engineeringVibration isolationVibrationPhysicsEngineeringQuantum mechanicsInfection Control and VentilationCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research