Coronavirus could be spread by air-conditioning – Scientists

Traces of the coronavirus found in a hospital air duct have led scientists to believe the disease could be spread through air-conditioning units, making it more contagious than initially thought. Swab analysis of rooms used by three coronavirus patients by experts at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in Singapore suggest that the respiratory illness […]

Traces of the coronavirus found in a hospital air duct have led scientists to believe the disease could be spread through air-conditioning units, making it more contagious than initially thought.

Swab analysis of rooms used by three coronavirus patients by experts at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases in Singapore suggest that the respiratory illness spreads easier than previously thought.

An air duct connected to the room of one of the patients, thought to be only suffering from ‘mild’ symptoms’, was found with traces of the virus, suggesting ‘ small, virus-laden droplets may be displaced by airflows and deposited on equipment such as vents’.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, comes shortly after it was reported that 142 Britons were reported trapped on a Princess Cruise ship anchored for patients to undergo testing, off the coast of California.

Health authorities have had a suspicious eye on cruise ships in recent weeks ever since a number of voyages were disrupted by virus scares.

In the most serious case, 705 people tested positive for the virus on board the Diamond Princess during a two-week lockdown in Japan.

Japanese authorities said last week that a British tourist who had been on board the Diamond Princess had died after contracting coronavirus.

It is standard practice for buildings and cruise ships to use recycled air through air-conditioning systems. Professor James G. Dwyer, from Purdue University in Indiana, told the Telegraph: “The problem is that these systems can’t filter out particles smaller than 5,000 nanometers.”

The size of the coronavirus is not yet known, but a similar respiratory illness, Sars, was recorded at just 120 nanometres.

Professor Dwyer said that if the current COVID-19 is a similar size, “the air conditioning system would be carrying the virus to every cabin.

“Cruise ships could minimise this problem by just using outside air and not recirculating it,” he added.

Airlines have already sought to reassure passengers that their air-conditioning systems are fit to prevent the coronavirus spreading in the cabin, with Etihad suggesting their system is as watertight as a hospital operating theatre.     Mail Online