Early findings suggest that Omicron may hang on the surface longer than the original virus.

But as the months go by Scientific consensus has begun to crystallizeSome of these precautions suggest that you may have missed the big picture of how the SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted.

The main way people are infected is through the air, rather than the contaminated surface, which is now scientifically known as the “mediator”, although most major public health authorities and scientists agree. Being exposed to this virus.

Still, a highly contagious variant known to evade some of our best defenses, Omicron has the potential to survive longer on everyday objects than its early predecessors.

This is an important discovery from a new preprinted paper by researchers at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Public Health. Published online However, it has not been peer-reviewed yet.

After conducting lab-based research, the team discovered that Omicron was “more stable than its ancestor SARS-CoV-2 on a variety of surfaces.”

“Our findings suggest that (Omicron) is more likely to be transmitted by a vector pathway,” the researchers conclude.

“We strongly recommend hand hygiene and frequent disinfection of common contact surfaces in public areas.”

“I need more evidence.”

To construct Other recent studies The Hong Kong team has shown that Omicron’s highly mutated peplomer is more stable than its ancestral strains, and their own previous findings on the infectivity level of SARS-CoV-2 on various surfaces. We investigated what would happen if the contained droplets were BA. Specifically, one system was applied to surfaces such as stainless steel, paper and glass.

In each case, the infectious dose of Omicron was recovered for a longer period of time than the original virus sample.

On some types of paper, the infectious ancestor SARS-CoV-2 recovered only 5 to 15 minutes, compared to more than 30 minutes for Omicron.

On smooth surfaces, Omicron lasted for more than a week, but the original virus of the infectious dose was recovered up to 4 days on polypropylene plastic and stainless steel and up to 7 days on glass.

“More evidence is needed to explain the increased infectivity of (Omicron) observed in various area studies,” the researchers write.

“Extra viral stability on the surface can be one possible factor and should be taken into account when recommending control measures against infection.”

Linsey Marr, a researcher on the aerial transmission of viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and a professor at Virginia Tech, found that the results appear to be high survival rates for Omicron, which may contribute to improved infectivity. I agreed to show that I have sex.

“This can affect the balance of transmission pathways that support the transmission of more vector organisms than we have seen before,” she said.

However, Ma emphasized that the conditions of the study did not reflect the actual scenario. The amount of droplets used in the lab (5 microliters) may sound small, but “it’s actually huge compared to the droplets we normally spit out,” she said. ..

This means that even though Marr felt that the comparison between the ancestral virus and Omicron was remarkable, the exact timing could not work for people in their daily lives.

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Controlled unconfigured virus “vulnerable”

Other members of the science and medicine community also had different views on what this new study would really teach us about how Omicron would spread.

Emanuel Goldman, a professor of microbiology at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical College, said in an article. Posted on lancet The 2020 journal states that the risk of COVID-19 infection from the surface at the time was “exaggerated.”

When asked about the new results in Hong Kong, he said, his findings based on “the same old technology” in the lab wouldn’t change that.

“You will never find so many viruses in the small areas you touch,” he said.

“The virus is fragile. These mutations haven’t changed it. It will still die very quickly in the environment.”

Virologist Arinjay Banerjee, who works with the University of Saskatchewan’s vaccine and infectious disease organizations, repeated that.

“It’s one thing to do an experiment in a humidity-controlled laboratory, and it’s a completely different thing to apply it to real life,” he said.

For example, both sunlight and humidity can contribute to the length of time the virus can survive on outdoor surfaces, he said.

The study authors themselves noted the limits of play, such as controlled laboratory-based settings and the differences in droplets used in the study compared to respiratory droplets. All of these can affect the stability of the virus.

It’s also unclear how much virus is needed for a productive SARS-CoV-2 infection, and more research is needed, Bunnelljay said.

Still, he said, the findings suggest that it’s worth paying attention to.

“I don’t think we should be vigilant for the SARS-CoV-2 period.”

Experts say hand washing and basic cleaning are still important

So what’s the point for Canadians trying to navigate a reopening society while reducing the risk of getting sick with COVID-19?

“We’ve been so focused on aerial transmission and masks that we probably neglected to wash our hands,” Ma said.

Dr. Gerard Evans, chair of the Infectious Diseases Department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, said that along with other personal protections such as masking and vaccination, basic hand hygiene is a smart way to prevent the virus. I agreed to continue to be.

Given how often children put it in their mouths, he said, regular disinfection of toys and other items at the day care and school where the children are playing may also help.

However, he warned the public not to panic and avoided resorting to time-consuming precautions.

“Washing your hands, not relentlessly, but thoughtfully and carefully, reduces the infections you see there,” Evans said.

“Sure, I don’t want to see people wipe groceries with disinfectants and leave them for days, hoping that no virus will infect them. I don’t think this is the case. We know that they form any form, method, or major route of transmission of this virus. “