Open AccessData on Transfer of Human Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 from Foods and Packaging Materials to Gloves Indicate That Fomite Transmission Is of Minor Importance
Author(s) -
Sophie Butot,
Sophie Zuber,
Mireille Moser,
Leen Baert
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
applied and environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 324
eISSN - 1070-6291
pISSN - 0099-2240
DOI - 10.1128/aem.02338-21
Subject(s) - cardboard , transfer (computing) , food contact materials , covid-19 , food packaging , environmental science , food science , chemistry , materials science , medicine , composite material , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , parallel computing , computer science
The observation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in swab samples from frozen fish packages in China, confirmed only once by cell culture, led to the hypothesis that food contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles could be the source of an outbreak. Epidemiological evidence for fomites as infection source is scarce, but it is important for the food industry to evaluate this infection path with quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), using measured viral transfer rates from surfaces to hands and face.