ArticleIndoor air2021
Identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in healthcare heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units.
Article in Indoor air, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on air purifier filters in university spaces without symptomatic or confirmed cases.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2025Article
- 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
- Odour and indoor air quality hazards in railway cars: an Australian mixed methods case study.Journal of environmental health science & engineering · 2024Article
- Air Change Rate and SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Hospitals and Residences: A Meta-Analysis.Aerosol science and technology : the journal of the American Association for Aerosol Research · 2024Article
- Airborne influenza virus shedding by patients in health care units: Removal mechanisms affecting virus transmission.PloS one · 2023Article
- Disinfection and decontamination in the context of SARS-CoV-2-specific data.Journal of medical virology · 2022Review
- Passive Bioaerosol Samplers: A Complementary Tool for Bioaerosol Research. A Review.Journal of aerosol science · 2022Article
- Passively sensing SARS-CoV-2 RNA in public transit buses.The Science of the total environment · 2022Article
- Longitudinal analysis of built environment and aerosol contamination associated with isolated COVID-19 positive individuals.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Efficacy of antimicrobial and anti-viral coated air filters to prevent the spread of airborne pathogens.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Experimental testing of air filter efficiency against the SARS-CoV-2 virus: The role of droplet and airborne transmission.Building and environment · 2022Article
- Simulation Studies Provide Evidence of Aerosol Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a Multi-Story Building via Air Supply, Exhaust and Sanitary Pipelines.International journal of environmental research and public health · 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
- Failure to Detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the Air During Active Labor in Mothers Who Recently Tested Positive.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- On the Critical Role of Human Feces and Public Toilets in the Transmission of COVID-19: Evidence from China.Sustainable cities and society · 2021Article
- Identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in healthcare heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units.Indoor air · 2021Article
- Factors affecting aerosol SARS-CoV-2 transmission via HVAC systems; a modeling study.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RNA signal in a home with COVID-19 positive occupants.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Why airborne transmission hasn't been conclusive in case of COVID-19? An atmospheric science perspective.The Science of the total environment · 2021Review
- Ten questions concerning occupant health in buildings during normal operations and extreme events including the COVID-19 pandemic.Building and environment · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Evidence continues to grow supporting the aerosol transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To assess the potential role of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in airborne viral transmission, this study sought to determine the viral presence, if any, on air handling units in a healthcare setting where coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients were being treated. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in approximately 25% of samples taken from ten different locations in multiple air handlers. While samples were not evaluated for viral infectivity, the presence of viral RNA in air handlers raises the possibility that viral particles can enter and travel within the air handling system of a hospital, from room return air through high-efficiency MERV-15 filters and into supply air ducts. Although no known transmission events were determined to be associated with these specimens, the findings suggest the potential for HVAC systems to facilitate transfer of virions to locations remote from areas where infected persons reside. These results are important within and outside of healthcare settings and may present necessary guidance for building operators of facilities that are not equipped with high-efficiency filtration. Furthermore, the identification of SARS-CoV-2 in HVAC components indicates the potential utility as an indoor environmental surveillance location.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.