• Clin. Infect. Dis. · Oct 2020

    Survival of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus on the human skin: Importance of hand hygiene in COVID-19.

    • Ryohei Hirose, Hiroshi Ikegaya, Yuji Naito, Naoto Watanabe, Takuma Yoshida, Risa Bandou, Tomo Daidoji, Yoshito Itoh, and Takaaki Nakaya.
    • Department of Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
    • Clin. Infect. Dis. 2020 Oct 3.

    BackgroundThe stability of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on human skin remains unknown, considering the hazards of viral exposure to humans. We generated a model that allows the safe reproduction of clinical studies on the application of pathogens to human skin and elucidated the stability of SARS-CoV-2 on the human skin.MethodsWe evaluated the stability of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus (IAV), mixed with culture medium or upper respiratory mucus, on human skin surfaces and the dermal disinfection effectiveness of 80% (w/w) ethanol against SARS-CoV-2 and IAV.ResultsSARS-CoV-2 and IAV were inactivated more rapidly on skin surfaces than on other surfaces (stainless steel/glass/plastic); the survival time was significantly longer for SARS-CoV-2 than for IAV [9.04 h (95% confidence interval: 7.96-10.2 h) vs. 1.82 h (1.65-2.00 h)]. IAV on other surfaces was inactivated faster in mucus versus medium conditions, while SARS-CoV-2 showed similar stability in the mucus and medium; the survival time was significantly longer for SARS-CoV-2 than for IAV [11.09 h (10.22-12.00 h) vs. 1.69 h (1.57-1.81 h)]. Moreover, both SARS-CoV-2 and IAV in the mucus/medium on human skin were completely inactivated within 15 s by ethanol treatment.ConclusionsThe 9-h survival of SARS-CoV-2 on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV, thus accelerating the pandemic. Proper hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infections.© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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