Saturday, July 2, 2022
SCIENMAG: Latest Science and Health News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag - Latest science news from science magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home SCIENCE NEWS Medicine & Health

Study reveals how long COVID-19 remains infectious on cardboard, metal and plastic

March 20, 2020
in Medicine & Health
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Research suggests that people may acquire the coronavirus through the air and by touching contaminated surfaces

IMAGE

Credit: Reed Hutchinson/UCLA


The virus that causes COVID-19 remains for several hours to days on surfaces and in aerosols, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found.

The study suggests that people may acquire the coronavirus through the air and after touching contaminated objects. Scientists discovered the virus is detectable for up to three hours in aerosols, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.

“This virus is quite transmissible through relatively casual contact, making this pathogen very hard to contain,” said James Lloyd-Smith, a co-author of the study and a UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. “If you’re touching items that someone else has recently handled, be aware they could be contaminated and wash your hands.”

The study attempted to mimic the virus being deposited onto everyday surfaces in a household or hospital setting by an infected person through coughing or touching objects, for example. The scientists then investigated how long the virus remained infectious on these surfaces.

The study’s authors are from UCLA, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Princeton University. They include Amandine Gamble, a UCLA postdoctoral researcher in Lloyd-Smith’s laboratory.

In February, Lloyd-Smith and colleagues reported in the journal eLife that screening travelers for COVID-19 is not very effective. People infected with the virus — officially named SARS-CoV-2 — may be spreading the virus without knowing they have it or before symptoms appear. Lloyd-Smith said the biology and epidemiology of the virus make infection extremely difficult to detect in its early stages because the majority of cases show no symptoms for five days or longer after exposure.

“Many people won’t have developed symptoms yet,” Lloyd-Smith said. “Based on our earlier analysis of flu pandemic data, many people may not choose to disclose if they do know.”

The new study supports guidance from public health professionals to slow the spread of COVID-19:

  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover coughs or sneezes with a tissue, and dispose of the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a household cleaning spray or wipe.

###

Media Contact
Stuart Wolpert
[email protected]
310-206-0511

Original Source

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/covid-19-through-air-contaminated-objects

Tags: BacteriologyDisease in the Developing WorldEnvironmental HealthEpidemiologyInfectious/Emerging DiseasesMedicine/HealthPublic HealthVirology
Share32Tweet20Share6ShareSendShare
  • Lead author Alison Towner with the carcass of a Great White Shark, washed up on shore following an Orca attack. ©Marine Dynamics/ Dyer Island Conservation Trust. Image by Hennie Otto

    The pair of Orcas deterring Great White Sharks – by ripping open their torsos for livers

    73 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • COVID-19 fattens up our body’s cells to fuel its viral takeover

    87 shares
    Share 35 Tweet 22
  • nTIDE May 2022 COVID Update: Uncertainty about inflation tempers good news for people with disabilities

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Wayne State and Great Lakes Water Authority to create workforce and laboratory center of the future

    66 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 17
  • Ovarian cancer in the fatty omentum: Metabolic enzyme’s key role in tumor metastasis

    65 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16
  • A closer look into the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bioaerosols and its monitoring

    69 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 17
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

We bring you the latest science news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Latest NEWS

nTIDE May 2022 COVID Update: Uncertainty about inflation tempers good news for people with disabilities

COVID-19 fattens up our body’s cells to fuel its viral takeover

Famous Sterkfontein Caves deposit 1 million years older than previously thought

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 190 other subscribers

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME PAGE
  • BIOLOGY
  • CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
  • MEDICINE
    • Cancer
    • Infectious Emerging Diseases
  • SPACE
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • CONTACT US

© 2022 Scienmag- Science Magazine: Latest Science News.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....