Airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected during deliveries with unmasked patients

Sara Thuresson; Malin Alsved; Åsa Leijonhufvud; Andreas Herbst; Patrik Medstrand; Jakob Löndahl; Carl-Johan Fraenkel

doi:10.1016/j.infpip.2024.100389

Airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected during deliveries with unmasked patients

Infect Prev Pract. 2024 Aug 17;6(4):100389. doi: 10.1016/j.infpip.2024.100389. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Authors

Sara Thuresson¹, Malin Alsved¹, Åsa Leijonhufvud^{2

3}, Andreas Herbst^{4

5}, Patrik Medstrand⁶, Jakob Löndahl¹, Carl-Johan Fraenkel^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Helsingborg Hospital, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden.
³ Department of Clinical Science Helsingborg, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁵ Institution for Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁶ Department of Translational Medicine, Clinical Virology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁷ Department of Infection Control, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden.
⁸ Division of Infection Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Aerosols; COVID-19; Childbirth; SARS-CoV-2.