Detection of viable SARS-CoV-2 on the hands of hospitalized children with COVID-19

Abstract

Potential routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission have been a matter of debate since the early phase of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to other respiratory viruses, airborne droplets exhaled by an infected individual and inhaled by another susceptible person were identified as the dominant route of transmission.1 However, indirect routes of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 are still under investigation.1, 2, 3 Transmission by indirect contact has been reported for other respiratory viruses1, and therefore, it was intuitive to place great emphasis on the importance of appropriate hand disinfection during the COVID-19 pandemic4. Yet, data providing firm evidence for the presence and quantity of potentially infectious virus carried on the hands of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 remained scarce.