GLOBAL NEWS – If you look back at the past year, how much of your time has been dedicated to disinfecting alone?
Minutes? Hours? Days?
Well some recent CDC data seems to suggest the tedious chore is no longer worthy of your time.
According to a science brief released in early April, your chances of contracting COVID-19 from a surface (called fomite transmission) in an indoor community are low — less than 1 in 10,000.
Dr. Joseph Blondeau says it’s important to acknowledge that the data has some limitations.
“[The CDC does] acknowledge some of the difficulties in investigating this area… that it’s difficult to document that someone had received an infection from a fomite transmission,” said Blondeau, head of clinical microbiology at Royal University Hospital.
The brief says fomite transmission depends on several different variables, including how much virus is on the surface, how long it has been sitting there, whether or not it’s been exposed to a cleaning agent, heat, or ventilation.
It’s also difficult to prove that fomite transmission has occurred, according to the CDC, because respiratory transmission cannot be ruled out.
“I’m not surprised that they would actually come out and say that transmission from fomite is relatively low risk,” said Blondeau.
The brief also breaks down how long COVID-19 particles can survive on a surface.
On a porous surface, COVID-19 particles can be detected for minutes or hours.
On a non-porous surface such as stainless steel, glass, or plastic, the virus can be detected for days or weeks.
However, the brief highlights that within three days, 99 per cent of infectious particles on the surface break down under regular indoor conditions, even if the surface hasn’t been cleaned, though the CDC says these studies do not necessarily reflect real-world conditions … Click here to read more.
