Bidirectional association between COVID-19 and the environment: A systematic review.

The global crisis caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) affected economics, social affairs, and the environment, not to mention public health. It is estimated that near 82% of the SARS-CoV-2 genome is similar to the severe acute respiratory syndrome. The purpose of the review is to highlight how the virus is impacted by the environment and how the virus has impacted the environment. This review was based on an electronic search of the literature in the Scopus, Science Direct, and PubMed database published from December 2019 to July 2020 using combinations of the following keywords: SARS-CoV-2 transmission, COVID-19 transmission, coronavirus transmission, waterborne, wastewater, airborne, solid waste, fomites, and fecal-oral transmission. Studies suggest the thermal properties of ambient air, as well as relative humidity, may affect the transmissibility and viability of the virus. Samples taken from the wastewater collection network were detected contaminated with the novel coronavirus; consequently, there is a concern of its transmission via an urban sewer system. There are concerns about the efficacy of the wastewater treatment plant disinfection process as the last chance to inactivate the virus. Handling solid waste also requires an utmost caution as it may contain infectious masks, etc. Following the PRISMA approach, among all reviewed studies, more than 36% of them were directly or indirectly related to the indoor and outdoor environment, 16% to meteorological factors, 11% to wastewater, 14% to fomites, 8% to water, 9% to solid waste, and 6% to the secondary environment. The still growing body of literature on COVID-19 and air, suggests the importance of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via air and indoor air quality, especially during lockdown interventions. Environmental conditions are found to be a factor in transmitting the virus beyond geographical borders. Accordingly, countries need to pay extra attention to sustainable development themes and goals.

SARS-CoV-2 Inactivation in Aerosol by Means of Radiated Microwaves.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause disease in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause infections on the respiratory tract that can be fatal. These viruses can cause both mild illnesses such as the common cold and lethal illnesses such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. Air transmission represents the principal mode by which people become infected by SARS-CoV-2. To reduce the risks of air transmission of this powerful pathogen, we devised a method of inactivation based on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the area to be sanitized. We optimized the conditions in a controlled laboratory environment mimicking a natural airborne virus transmission and consistently achieved a 90% (tenfold) reduction of infectivity after a short treatment using a Radio Frequency (RF) wave emission with a power level that is safe for people according to most regulatory agencies, including those in Europe, USA, and Japan. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to be inactivated through RF wave emission under conditions compatible with the presence of human beings and animals. Additional in-depth studies are warranted to extend the results to other viruses and to explore the potential implementation of this technology in different environmental conditions.

Rapid Environmental Monitoring, Capture, and Destruction Activities of SARS-CoV-2 and Bacterial Pathogens During the COVID-19 Health Emergency.

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a health emergency for occupational healthcare workers at COVID-19 hospital wards in Italy. The objective of the study was to investigate the bioreactor's effectivity in monitoring and improving air quality via detection, capture, and destruction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and bacterial pathogens, reducing the risk of transmission among healthcare workers. METHODS: Bioreactors are a demonstrated effective biomonitoring system. We implemented a methodological approach wherein they were placed at various hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in Italy. The detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was achieved through rapid biomonitoring testing of the solutes from the AIRcel bioreactors via SARS-CoV-2 rapid test antigen and consecutive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis with the multiplex platform (XABT) and the real-time PCR rotor-gene. RESULTS: The marked presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was found in multiple water samples via the detection of ORF1ab + N and/or E gene involved in gene expression and cellular signaling of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The AIRcel bioreactors were able to neutralize the virus and bacterial pathogens effectively as traces of the viruses and bacteria were no longer found in multiple solute samples after an overnight period. CONCLUSIONS: Transmission of COVID-19 via bioaerosols, transmitted by infected patients, remains a viable threat for health workers. AIRcel bioreactors allow for rapid biomonitoring testing for early virus detection within the environment, reducing the risk of exponential contagion exposure and maintaining good air quality without endangering health workers. This same protocol can also be extended to public spaces as a bio-monitoring hotspot tool for early detection.

Upper-room ultraviolet air disinfection might help to reduce COVID-19 transmission in buildings: a feasibility study.

As the world's economies come out of the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need for technologies to mitigate COVID-19 transmission in confined spaces such as buildings. This feasibility study looks at one such technology, upper-room ultraviolet (UV) air disinfection, that can be safely used while humans are present in the room space, and which has already proven its efficacy as an intervention to inhibit the transmission of airborne diseases such as measles and tuberculosis. Using published data from various sources, it is shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of COVID-19, is highly likely to be susceptible to UV-C damage when suspended in air, with a UV susceptibility constant likely to be in the region 0.377-0.590 m2/J, similar to that for other aerosolised coronaviruses. As such, the UV-C flux required to disinfect the virus is expected to be acceptable and safe for upper-room applications. Through analysis of expected and worst-case scenarios, the efficacy of the upper-room UV-C approach for reducing COVID-19 transmission in confined spaces (with moderate but sufficient ceiling height) is demonstrated. Furthermore, it is shown that with SARS-CoV-2, it should be possible to achieve high equivalent air change rates using upper-room UV air disinfection, suggesting that the technology might be particularly applicable to poorly ventilated spaces.

Could fighting airborne transmission be the next line of defence against COVID-19 spread?

The World Health Organization declared the infectious spread of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) an epidemic during its initial outbreak in Wuhan (China) and has since declared it a pandemic and, more recently, an endemic infection that may remain in our communities. A vaccine for COVID-19 is expected to take several months, meaning that the spread may continue in future, in the absence of the most effective measures of social distancing and self-isolation. While these measures have worked well under lockdowns, the potential of airborne transmission of COVID-19 under the eased restrictions has not been considered important enough. We discuss the need to acknowledge the airborne spread of COVID-19 inside built spaces under eased movement restrictions and the potential steps that can be taken to control it.

A hospital cluster combined with a family cluster of avian influenza H7N9 infection in Anhui Province, China.

OBJECTIVES: To identify human-to-human transmission of H7N9 avian influenza virus, we investigated a hospital cluster combined with family cluster in this study. METHODS: We obtained and analyzed clinical, epidemiological and virological data from the three patients. RT-PCR, viral culture and sequencing were conducted for determination of causative pathogen. RESULTS: The index case presented developed pneumonia with fever after exposure to chicken in a poultry farm. Case A presented pneumonia with high fever on day 3 after she shared a hospital room with the index case. Case B, the father of the index case, presented pneumonia with high fever on day 15 after he took care of the index case. H7N9 virus circulated in the local farm to which the index case was exposed. Full genomic sequence of virus showed 99.8-100% identity shared between the index case and case A or case B. Compared to the earliest virus of Anhui, a total of 29 amino acid variation sites were observed in the 8 segments. CONCLUSIONS: A hospital cluster combined with family cluster of H7N9 avian influenza infection was identified. Air transmission resulted in the hospital cluster possibly. A poultry farm was the initially infectious source of the cluster.

The effectiveness of environmental condition on the psychological performance of athletes in sports industries of china

This research study aims to measure the effectiveness of environmental conditions on the psychological performance of athletes in sports industries. This research was conducted in China and based on primary research form. To measure the impact of environmental conditions' effectiveness on psychological performance, specific questions related to the research and fulfill from almost 100 plus respondent participants. The smart PLS software used for measuring the results for collecting results used different tools and techniques included as one-way ANOVA test analysis, the T-Test analysis, covariance ratio test analysis, and that Descriptive statistic or correlation coefficient analysis for measuring the data. The effectiveness of environmental conditions is the main independent variable air transmission, temperature, climate surface; these are a subpart of an independent variable. In this research study, the psychological performance of athletes is considered dependent variable research based on the sports industries of China. After analysis data, overall results found an inverse relationship between the effectiveness of environmental conditions on the psychological performance of athletes in sports industries.(AU)

Determinación de patrones de contactos para enfermedades de transmisión aérea en comunidades de Camagüey, Cuba / Determination of contact patterns for air-transmission diseases en communities of Camagüey, Cuba

OBJETIVOS: Hacer un estudio preliminar en una comunidad cubana sobre los patrones de contactos y las estructuras sociales en que estos se produjeron, así como mostrar una forma factible de recabar la información necesaria para encontrar estos patrones y realizar su adecuado procesamiento estadístico. MÉTODOS: Se aplicó un cuestionario en el que 80 personas informaron cuántos individuos contactaron en un día de trabajo, teniendo en cuenta las diferentes edades, duración, frecuencia, lugar y grado de intimidad. Se efectuó una correlación Spearman para encontrar la relación entre el total de contactos por grado de intimidad y el total de contactos para las categorías de lugar, frecuencia diaria, duración, frecuencia usual y edad de personas contactadas. Fueron relacionados los siguientes datos de los participantes: sexo, edad, ocupación, grado de escolaridad, cantidad de personas con las que convivían y grupo de edad con las frecuencias del total general de contactos. Se reflejó la relación entre las edades de los participantes y el total de contactos de las personas seleccionadas entre las edades de 15-29 años, mediante el modelo MANOVA, y se analizó el efecto de la edad de los participantes sobre la frecuencia de contactos para las diferentes edades de los contactados. Se realizó un análisis de regresión sin error con restricciones en los parámetros para evaluar el peso relativo de cada uno de los totales de contactos por cada categoría del grupo contactado sobre el gran total de contactos. RESULTADOS. Los participantes tuvieron un total de 1 508 contactos (promedio 18,8±7,4). Se encontró relación entre las edades de los participantes y la de los contactados, en la que los menores de 30 años fueron los que más contactos realizaban. Se encontró predominio de los contactos físicos más estrechos. Las categorías de contactos de mayor importancia fueron: edad de 15-29 años, aquellos que ocurrían más de tres veces al día, los de más de una hora, ...(AU)

INTRODUCTION: A preliminary study was conducted to determine the contact patterns of air-transmission diseases in a community as well as the social structures for such contacts. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed where 80 persons declared how many subjects were contacts during a working day, taking into account the different ages, length, usual frequency and the age of contacts. The following data of participants were related: sex, age, job, and schooling level, number of persons with who they live together and age group with the frequency of general total of contacts. The relation among ages of participants and the total of contacts of the persons selected among 15-29 ages were reflected by MANOVA model analyzing the age effect of participants on contact frequencies for the different ages of contacts. A regression analysis was made without error with restrictions in parameters to assess the relative weight of each of contact totals by each category of contact group over the big total of contacts. RESULTS: Participants had 1 508 contacts (mean 18,8 ± 7,4). There was a relation among ages of participants and that of its contact where those aged under 30 had a greater number of contacts. There was predominance of more closed physical contacts. The more significant contacts categories were: age of 15-29 years, those occurring more than three times a day, more than one hour, daily and that occurred in school(AU)

Determinación de patrones de contactos para enfermedades de transmisión aérea en comunidades de Camagüey, Cuba / Determination of contact patterns for air-transmission diseases en communities of Camagüey, Cuba

OBJETIVOS: Hacer un estudio preliminar en una comunidad cubana sobre los patrones de contactos y las estructuras sociales en que estos se produjeron, así como mostrar una forma factible de recabar la información necesaria para encontrar estos patrones y realizar su adecuado procesamiento estadístico. MÉTODOS: Se aplicó un cuestionario en el que 80 personas informaron cuántos individuos contactaron en un día de trabajo, teniendo en cuenta las diferentes edades, duración, frecuencia, lugar y grado de intimidad. Se efectuó una correlación Spearman para encontrar la relación entre el total de contactos por grado de intimidad y el total de contactos para las categorías de lugar, frecuencia diaria, duración, frecuencia usual y edad de personas contactadas. Fueron relacionados los siguientes datos de los participantes: sexo, edad, ocupación, grado de escolaridad, cantidad de personas con las que convivían y grupo de edad con las frecuencias del total general de contactos. Se reflejó la relación entre las edades de los participantes y el total de contactos de las personas seleccionadas entre las edades de 15-29 años, mediante el modelo MANOVA, y se analizó el efecto de la edad de los participantes sobre la frecuencia de contactos para las diferentes edades de los contactados. Se realizó un análisis de regresión sin error con restricciones en los parámetros para evaluar el peso relativo de cada uno de los totales de contactos por cada categoría del grupo contactado sobre el gran total de contactos. RESULTADOS. Los participantes tuvieron un total de 1 508 contactos (promedio 18,8±7,4). Se encontró relación entre las edades de los participantes y la de los contactados, en la que los menores de 30 años fueron los que más contactos realizaban. Se encontró predominio de los contactos físicos más estrechos. Las categorías de contactos de mayor importancia fueron: edad de 15-29 años, aquellos que ocurrían más de tres veces al día, los de más de una hora, los que tuvieron lugar diariamente y los que sucedieron en la escuela.

INTRODUCTION: A preliminary study was conducted to determine the contact patterns of air-transmission diseases in a community as well as the social structures for such contacts. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed where 80 persons declared how many subjects were contacts during a working day, taking into account the different ages, length, usual frequency and the age of contacts. The following data of participants were related: sex, age, job, and schooling level, number of persons with who they live together and age group with the frequency of general total of contacts. The relation among ages of participants and the total of contacts of the persons selected among 15-29 ages were reflected by MANOVA model analyzing the age effect of participants on contact frequencies for the different ages of contacts. A regression analysis was made without error with restrictions in parameters to assess the relative weight of each of contact totals by each category of contact group over the big total of contacts. RESULTS: Participants had 1 508 contacts (mean 18,8 ± 7,4). There was a relation among ages of participants and that of its contact where those aged under 30 had a greater number of contacts. There was predominance of more closed physical contacts. The more significant contacts categories were: age of 15-29 years, those occurring more than three times a day, more than one hour, daily and that occurred in school.