Postoje neodoljivi dokazi koji potvrđuju da je dominantni put prijenosa teškog akutnog respiratornog sindroma coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) zračnim putem. Ova spoznaja ima značajne implikacije za fino podešavanje strategija za upravljanje pandemijom, posebno u smislu važnosti koja se pridaje nošenju maski i izbjegavanju okupljanja ljudi dok stanovništvo ne postigne imunitet krda kroz imunizaciju. S obzirom na to, nedavno je ublažavanje ograničenja u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu koje dopušta ponovno otvaranje javnih zgrada, gostoprimstva na otvorenom, atrakcija i događanja te unutarnjih sadržaja za slobodno vrijeme i sport možda treba ponovno promisliti i razmotriti.
Dominantni način prijenosa SARS-CoV-2 virus is undoubtedly airborne1-3 which means that it can be contracted by breathing contaminated air. It has also been hypothesized that the virus can remain in the air for about 3 hours with a half-life of 1.1 hours4, što sugerira da čak i kada zaražena osoba napusti mjesto, postoje šanse da se neka druga nezaražena osoba zarazi bolešću kada dođe u kontakt sa zrakom koji je kontaminiran bez prisutnosti druge osobe u blizini. To bolest COVID-19 svrstava u kategoriju drugih bolesti koje se prenose zrakom kao što su hripavac, tuberkuloza, prehlada, gripa i ospice.
Budući da virus responsible for causing Covid-19 is u zraku, there is a need to re-emphasize wearing of masks not only in public places, but also indoors where there is a suspicion of air being contaminated with the virus. In addition, there is limited evidence to support other routes of transmission such as respiratory droplet or surfaces contaminated with the virus koji mogu uzrokovati infekciju 5-6. Maintaining social distancing and avoiding large scale gatherings that can lead to higher transmission/infection should remain in place. This translates to wearing masks all the time while being in public places or better yet by continuing closure of public places till an acceptable level of herd immunity has been developed by means of large-scale vaccination. This also means that the air ventilation systems in hospitals need to be re assessed to ensure that the health workers are at a minimum risk due to exposure to contaminated indoor air. Physical isolation of positive cases with separate air flow containment may be the need of the hour to ensure proper treatment of the patients along with protection of healthcare workers by wearing modified PPE’s with self-contained breathing apparatus. In addition, continuous testing of individuals would be required to assess when the person becomes non-infective and is unable to transmit the disease by releasing virus in the exhaled air by means of coughing/sneezing etc. Till the time the individual is positive, he/she has to remain in self-quarantine at home to ensure that the transmission to other persons is minimised.
U svjetlu ponovne potvrde da se COVID-19 pretežno prenosi zrakom, trenutna lakoća ograničenja od 12. travnja u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu dopušta ponovno otvaranje maloprodajnih mjesta koja nisu bitna, usluga osobne njege kao što su frizerski saloni i saloni za nokte, javnih zgrada kao što su knjižnice i društveni centri, otvoreni ugostiteljski objekti i turističke atrakcije, događanja na otvorenom i unutarnji sadržaji za slobodno vrijeme i sport mogu zahtijevati preispitivanje7.
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Reference
- Greenhalgh T, Jimenez JL, dr. 2021. Deset znanstvenih razloga u prilog prijenosu SARS-CoV-2 zrakom. Lanceta. Objavljeno 15. travnja 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00869-2
- Heneghan C, Spencer E, Brassey J i sur. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 i uloga prijenosa zrakom: sustavni pregled. F1000 Istraživanje. 2021. Objavljeno online 24. ožujka 2021. (predtisak). DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.52091.1
- Eichler N, Thornley C, Swadi T et al 2021. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome koronavirusa 2 during border quarantine and air travel, New Zealand (Aotearoa). Emerging Infect Dis. 2021; (published online March 18.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2705.210514
- Van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH i sur. Stabilnost aerosola i površine SARS-CoV-2 u usporedbi sa SARS-CoV-1. New Engl J Med. 2020.; 382: 1564-1567. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2004973
- Chen W, Zhang N, Wei J, Yen HL, Li Y Kratki domet zračnim putem dominira izloženošću respiratornoj infekciji tijekom bliskog kontakta. Okolina zgrade. 2020.; 176106859. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106859
- Goldman E. Pretjerani rizik od prijenosa COVID-19 putem fomita. Lancet Infect Dis 2020; 20: 892–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30561-2
- UK Govt. 2021. Coronavirus (COVID-19). Guidance – koronavirusa restrictions: what you can and cannot do. Available online at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do#april-whats-changed, Pristupljeno 16. aprila 2021.
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