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Here's how
long coronaviruses may linger on contaminated surfaces, according to science
By
Jacqueline Howard, CNN
Updated
0028 GMT (0828 HKT) February 18, 2020
(CNN)Concerns are mounting about how long the
novel coronavirus may survive on surfaces -- so much so that China's central
bank has taken measures to deep clean and destroy its cash, which changes hands
multiple times a day, in an effort to contain the virus.
It is
unknown exactly how long the novel coronavirus can linger on contaminated
surfaces and objects with the potential of infecting people, but some
researchers are finding clues by studying the elusive behaviors of other
coronaviruses.
Coronaviruses
are a large group of viruses common among animals. In rare cases, they are what
scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to
humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials
do not know what animal may have caused the current outbreak of novel coronavirus
in Wuhan, China. But previously, studies have suggested that people were
infected with the coronavirus MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, after
coming in contact with camels, and scientists have suspected that civet cats
were to blame for SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
These human
coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, have been found to persist on inanimate
surfaces -- including metal, glass or plastic surfaces -- for as long as nine
days if that surface had not been disinfected, according to research published
earlier this month in The Journal of Hospital Infection.
Concerns
mount about coronavirus spreading in hospitals, study suggests
Concerns
mount about coronavirus spreading in hospitals, study suggests
Cleaning
with common household products can make a difference, according to the
research, which also found that human coronaviruses "can be efficiently
inactivated by surface disinfection procedures with 62-71% ethanol, 0.5%
hydrogen peroxide or 0.1% sodium hypochlorite" or bleach within one
minute.
The new
research involved analyzing 22 previously published studies on coronaviruses,
which researchers hope can help provide insight into the novel coronavirus.
"Based
on the current available data, I would primarily rely on the data from SARS
coronavirus, which is the closest relative to the novel coronavirus -- with 80%
sequence similarity -- among the coronaviruses tested. For SARS coronavirus,
the range of persistence on surfaces was less than five minutes to nine
days," said Dr. Charles Chiu, an infectious disease professor at the
University of California, San Francisco, and director of the USCF-Abbott Viral
Diagnostics and Discovery Center, who was not involved in the new study.
"However,
it is very difficult to extrapolate these findings to the novel coronavirus due
to the different strains, viral titers and environmental conditions that were
tested in the various studies and the lack of data on the novel coronavirus
itself," he said. "More research using cultures of the novel coronavirus
are needed to establish the duration that it can survive on surfaces."
How can the
coronavirus spread through bathroom pipes? Experts are investigating in Hong
Kong
How can the
coronavirus spread through bathroom pipes? Experts are investigating in Hong
Kong
The CDC has
noted that coronaviruses are thought to spread most often by respiratory
droplets, such as droplets in a cough or sneeze, and coronaviruses in general
have "poor survivability" on surfaces -- but there is still much to
learn about the novel coronavirus disease, named COVID-19.
"It
may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object
that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly
their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,"
according to the CDC's website.
While there
are some similarities between other coronaviruses and the novel coronavirus,
there are some differences emerging, too.
How does
coronavirus spread? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.
How does
coronavirus spread? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains. 01:33
"It
also appears that COVID-19 is not as deadly as other coronaviruses, including
SARS and MERS," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World
Health Organization, said during a media briefing with reporters Monday.
"More
than 80% of patients have mild disease and will recover. In about 14% of cases,
the virus causes severe diseases including pneumonia and shortness of breath.
And about 5% of patients have critical diseases including respiratory failure,
septic shock and multiorgan failure," he said. "In 2% of reported cases,
the virus is fatal, and the risk of death increases the older you are. We see
relatively few cases among children. More research is needed to understand
why."
While the
novel coronavirus fatality rate is lower than for SARS and MERS, it still seems
to be comparable to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, Neil Ferguson, professor of
mathematical biology at Imperial College London, said in January.
"It is
a significant concern, globally," Ferguson said, noting that we don't yet
fully understand the severity.
Ferguson
said he believes the fatality rate is likely to be lower because of an
"iceberg" of milder cases that have not yet been identified, but he
highlights that novel viruses spread much more quickly through a population.
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Health team.
"Remain
informed, but do not panic," Chiu said.
If you do
have concerns, "my recommendations would be frequent hand-washing,
avoiding contact with people who are sick, follow home quarantine
recommendations according to the latest public health agency guidelines if you
have recently traveled from China or were in contact with a known or suspected
infected patient," he said.
But
overall, "it is still far more likely that you contract influenza rather
than this novel coronavirus, meaning that you should get vaccinated for
influenza as well."
According
to the CDC, the flu virus can live on some surfaces for as long as 48 hours and
potentially infect someone if the surface has not been cleaned and disinfected.
|
Coronavirus
death toll tops 1,800 as 780 million remain on lockdown in China
CNN Digital
Expansion 2017. James Griffiths
By James
Griffiths, CNN
Updated
0541 GMT (1341 HKT) February 18, 2020
Hong Kong
(CNN)The death toll from the novel coronavirus has reached 1,873, as almost
half of China's 1.3 billion-strong population remain subject to varying forms
of travel restrictions and other quarantine measures.
On Tuesday,
Liu Zhiming, director of the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, the city at the center
of the outbreak, himself died of the virus, according to a statement released
by local government authorities.
Liu was a
neurosurgeon and is the first hospital director to die as a result of the
coronavirus epidemic. His death could renew criticism that the government has
not done enough to protect frontline medical workers, many of whom are
overworked and overstretched. Also on Tuesday, state media reported that
doctors and nurses who die while trying to contain the outbreak will officially
be designated as "martyrs."
All but
five deaths from the virus have occurred inside mainland China, where an
additional 98 fatal cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, were
reported Tuesday morning. The number of confirmed cases in China increased by
1,886, bringing the global total to over 73,325.
The vast
majority of those cases have been in China, but concern has been growing in the
past week over much smaller but growing outbreaks in Singapore, Japan and Hong
Kong.
According
to China's National Health Commission, since the outbreak began in December,
more than 12,500 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
Outside of
Hubei, the province of which Wuhan is capital, the number of new cases has
dropped for 14 consecutive days. Despite this apparent good news, stringent and
often draconian measures are being ramped up in much of the country. This comes
as authorities make an effort to return to something like normality in many
major cities and commercial hubs, with the long break forced by the outbreak
taking its toll on the country's economy.
On Monday,
a committee headed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that a "greater
outbreak of the epidemic has been avoided through strengthened prevention and
control measures," adding that "a positive trend has emerged
nationwide in curbing the epidemic."
A man
stands in front of TV screens broadcasting a speech by Hong Kong Chief
Executive Carrie Lam on February 3. Lam said the city would shut almost all
border-control points to the mainland.
China on
lockdown
Despite the
optimism expressed by Chinese officials and in state media, there are
indications the authorities are not totally convinced of their success in
reining in the virus.
According
to analysis by CNN of Chinese government orders, some 780 million people are
still living under some form of restrictive movement, including all of Hubei,
the northeastern province of Liaoning, and China's two most important cities,
Beijing and Shanghai. Restrictions include everything from self-quarantines to
limits on who can come and go from neighborhoods.
Some of the
strictest measures can be found in four cities in Hubei province. The cities of
Wuhan, Huanggang, Shiyan and Xiaogan have completely sealed off all residential
complexes and communities. The use of non-essential vehicles on local roadways
is also banned. Residents in each city receive daily necessities from
neighborhood and community committees as they are not permitted to leave their
homes.
In an almost
unprecedented move, the central government announced late Monday that it was
considering postponing its annual meeting of the National People's Congress
(NPC), a gathering of the the country's nearly 3,000 national legislators, as
it continues to deal with the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.
The full
session of the NPC, the country's rubber-stamp parliament, was due to open on
March 5. Instead, the NPC Standing Committee, a smaller group of fewer than 200
people, will meet in the capital on February 24 to review a proposal to
postpone the plenary session, according to Chinese state media.
While
figures appear to be trending in a positive direction in China and some other
countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that new data must be
analyzed with some degree of caution.
"This
trend must be interpreted very cautiously. Trends can change as new populations
are affected. It's too early to tell if this reported decline will continue.
Every scenario is still on the table," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
director-general of WHO, said during a press conference Monday.
Tedros
added that the virus is not as deadly as SARS or MERS, both of which are
related to the current coronavirus, and more than 80% of patients "have
mild disease and will recover."
"In
about 14% of cases, the virus causes severe diseases including pneumonia and
shortness of breath. And about 5% of patients have critical diseases including
respiratory failure, septic shock and multiorgan failure," he said.
"In 2% of reported cases, the virus is fatal, and the risk of death
increases the older you are. We see relatively few cases among children. More
research is needed to understand why."
Outside of
mainland China, the worst single outbreak has been on board the Diamond
Princess cruise ship, under tight quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama,
south of Tokyo. More than 350 of the 3,600 people on board have tested positive
for the virus so far. On Monday, 99 new cases were reported.
Late
Sunday, 328 American passengers were evacuated late Sunday on two US
government-chartered planes to California and Texas. Spaces on the flights had
been restricted to people who had not tested positive for the virus, or were
not showing symptoms. However, as the planes were preparing to leave, 14
Americans tested positive during final screenings.
Those
passengers were boarded nevertheless and held in special compartments on the
plane, where they underwent tight observation and further testing.
Speaking to
reporters, William Walters, an official with the bureau of medical services at
the US State Department, said that three additional people were found to have a
fever on the flight to California, and moved to isolation. Two passengers on
the flight to Texas were also found to have a fever and isolated.
Since
landing in the US, 13 people from the Diamond Princess have been moved to Omaha
to be treated at the University of Nebraska, Walters said.
Those
passengers who did not test positive or show symptoms will undergo a 14-day
quarantine at military bases in California and Texas, doubling the amount of
time they will have had their travel restricted, after almost two weeks trapped
on board the Diamond Princess.
That
decision had angered some passengers when it was first announced Saturday by US
authorities.
"It's
like a prison sentence for something I did not do," Karey Mansicalco, who
owns a real estate company in Utah, told CNN before she left. "They are
holding us hostage for absolutely no reason."
For the
minority of Americans who remained on the ship, choosing to wait out the 14-day
period in Japan where they will be free to move around, rather than head to the
US, the fact that new cases were confirmed on board the plane was a
vindication.
"The
decision not to be evacuated was the best decision ever," Sacramento
resident Matthew Smith told CNN. He had previously criticized the plan, saying
the US wanted to "take us off without testing, fly us back to the US with
a bunch of other untested people, and then stick us in 2 more weeks of
quarantine? How does that make any sense at all?"
Economic
woes
With cases
of the virus confirmed in more than two dozen countries around the world, and
travel to and from China restricted and much of the country on lockdown, the
toll is beginning to be felt by the global economy.
Companies
in some parts of China have been attempting to get back to work, with
temperature checks for staff and work-from-home policies the most common
solution for avoiding further spread of the virus.
Apple
warned investors on Monday that the outbreak is hurting its business more than
previously expected by limiting how many devices it can make and sell in China.
The closing of Chinese plants has also disrupted supply chains globally,
threatening to cause a recession in Germany and smartphone shortages worldwide.
Economists
say the current level of disruption is manageable. If the number of new
coronavirus cases begins to slow, and China's factories reopen soon, the result
will be a fleeting hit to the Chinese economy in the first quarter and a dent
in global growth.
If the
virus continues to spread, however, the economic damage will increase rapidly.
"This
is continuing to grow in scope and magnitude," William Reinsch, a senior
adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last week.
"It could end being really, really big, and really, really serious."
CNN's
Jacqueline Howard and Ben Tinker in Atlanta; Shanshan Wang, Shawn Deng, Steven
Jiang and Yong Xiong in Beijing; Mick Krever in Yokohama; Helen Regan, Jessie
Yeung, Carly Walsh, Laura He, Isaac Yee, Sandi Sidhu and Nectar Gan in Hong
Kong; and Lindsay Isaac, Zahid Mahmood, Charles Riley and Meera Senthilingam in
London contributed reporting.
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