Characterization of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2Stability in Multiple Water Matrices
10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e330
- Author:
Young Jae LEE
;
Je Hyoung KIM
;
Byeong-Sun CHOI
;
Jang-Hoon CHOI
;
Young-Il JEONG
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- From:Journal of Korean Medical Science
2020;35(36):e330-
- CountryRepublic of Korea
-
Abstract:
The advent of the global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) necessitates a thorough study of the stability and transmissibility in the environment. We characterized the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in three water matrices: fresh, tap, and seawater. The minimum infective dose of SARS-CoV-2 in Vero cells was confirmed to be 10 3 PFU/mL. The stability of SARS-CoV-2 varied according to the water matrix: infective SARSCoV-2 was undetectable after treatment with fresh water and seawater, but remained detectable for 2 days in tap water, when starting with an initial concentration of 10 4 PFU/mL. When the starting concentration was increased to 10 5 PFU/mL, a similar trend was observed. In addition, viral RNA persisted longer than infectious virus in all water matrices. This study was conducted in stagnant water containing a significantly high titer of virus, thus, human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the actual aquatic environment is expected to be rare.
