ArticlePloS one2021
SARS-CoV-2 detection and genomic sequencing from hospital surface samples collected at UC Davis.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- Portable air cleaners and residential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 aerosols: A real-world study.Indoor air · 2022Trial
- Air, surface, and wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2; a multimodal evaluation of COVID-19 detection in a built environment.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- Comparative analysis of environmental persistence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and seasonal coronaviruses.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Predicting COVID-19 Cases Across a Large University Campus Using Built Environment Surveillance.Journal of the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease Canada = Journal officiel de l'Association pour la microbiologie medicale et l'infectiologie Canada · 2024Article
- Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 outbreak detection in hospital: a single-centre prospective study.Infection prevention in practice · 2024Article
- Occurrence of Human Viruses on Fomites in the Environment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.ACS environmental Au · 2023Review
- Antigen test swabs are comparable to nasopharyngeal swabs for sequencing of SARS-CoV-2.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 RNA Is Readily Detectable at Least 8 Months after Shedding in an Isolation Facility.mSphere · 2022Article
- Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction: Current Techniques, Applications, and Role in COVID-19 Diagnosis.Genes · 2022Review
- Spatial and temporal effects on severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) contamination of the healthcare environment.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2022Article
- Disinfection and decontamination in the context of SARS-CoV-2-specific data.Journal of medical virology · 2022Review
- Direct comparison of RT-ddPCR and targeted amplicon sequencing for SARS-CoV-2 mutation monitoring in wastewater.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
- Multifaceted Assessment of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for SARS-CoV-2 in Selected Urban Communities in Davao City, Philippines: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Sponge Whirl-Pak Sampling Method and Droplet Digital RT-PCR Assay for Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 on Surfaces in Public and Working Environments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Longitudinal analysis of built environment and aerosol contamination associated with isolated COVID-19 positive individuals.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 RNA Detection on Environmental Surfaces in a University Setting of Central Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 in hospital air as revealed by comprehensive respiratory viral panel sequencing.Infection prevention in practice · 2022Article
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 genome on inanimate surfaces in COVID-19 intensive care units and emergency care cohort.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2022Article
- The challenge of SARS-CoV-2 environmental monitoring in schools using floors and portable HEPA filtration units: Fresh or relic RNA?PloS one · 2022Article
- Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical exhaled breath condensate samples for metabolomic analysis.Journal of breath research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleThere is little doubt that aerosols play a major role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The significance of the presence and infectivity of this virus on environmental surfaces, especially in a hospital setting, remains less clear.
objectivesWe aimed to analyze surface swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and infectivity, and to determine their suitability for sequence analysis.
methodsSamples were collected during two waves of COVID-19 at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, in COVID-19 patient serving and staff congregation areas. qRT-PCR positive samples were investigated in Vero cell cultures for cytopathic effects and phylogenetically assessed by whole genome sequencing. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN
resultsImproved cleaning and patient management practices between April and August 2020 were associated with a substantial reduction of SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR positivity (from 11% to 2%) in hospital surface samples. Even though we recovered near-complete genome sequences in some, none of the positive samples (11 of 224 total) caused cytopathic effects in cultured cells suggesting this nucleic acid was either not associated with intact virions, or they were present in insufficient numbers for infectivity. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 genomes of the positive samples were derived from hospitalized patients. Genomic sequences isolated from qRT-PCR negative samples indicate a superior sensitivity of viral detection by sequencing.
conclusionsThis study confirms the low likelihood that SARS-CoV-2 contamination on hospital surfaces contains infectious virus, disputing the importance of fomites in COVID-19 transmission. Ours is the first report on recovering near-complete SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences directly from environmental surface swabs.
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