Chinese scientists first managed to distinguish live SARS-CoV-2 from the feces of patients, which increases the likelihood of transmission is through inhalation of particles of waste that are infected with coronavirus. In a similar way was infected residents of a building in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Article researchers published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Experts have described the case COVID-19 of the 78-year-old patient Wuhan. 17 January 2020 the patient was hospitalized with symptoms including fever, cough and abnormal result of computed tomography of the chest. January 22, the patient was placed on a ventilator, and on 20 February he died. Results of polymerase chain reaction with reverse transcription showed that stool samples collected from 27 January to 7 February, the virus is. While in the feces contained more viral RNA than in respiratory smears.
In the samples were revealed spherical viral particles of genital protein”spikes”. Scientists were able to isolate the live virus from two samples of feces collected from other patients. According to experts, it proves that the virus is contained in feces, is a common manifestation COVID-19. This also indicates the possibility of infection by the fecal-oral or faecal-aerosol by.
Transmission of SARS through the chair led to the fact that in 2003 in a residential complex, Amoy Gardens in Hong Kong, hundreds of people were infected with the virus. The upward flow of warm air from bathrooms polluted several apartments and was taken by the wind to neighbouring building. Although such a transmission path can be a problem to curb the spread of the virus, the risk of it is mainly for hospitals, which can become “amplifiers” of the outbreak.
