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Airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected during deliveries with unmasked patients
Sara Thuresson1, Malin Alsved1, Åsa Leijonhufvud2,3
1Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Background:
Healthcare workers in obstetric clinics may be exposed to airborne SARS-CoV-2 when treating patients with COVID-19.
Method:
In this study, performed during the midst of the pandemic, air samples were collected in delivery rooms during childbirth and analysed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA content.
Result:
Six of 28 samples collected inside delivery rooms were positive for SARS-CoV-2, but none in anterooms or corridors. Five of the six positive samples were from the same occasion.
Discussion:
This indicates that some patients could be major sources of exhaled virus, although the individual variation is large, and it is thus difficult to predict the risk of infection.
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