Since various investigations revealed that the coronavirus can remain active for up to 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel surfaces, less than four hours in copper and less than 24 hours in cardboard, the scientific community has been studying how Other everyday objects can survive the dangerous virus.
And now, a new study found that SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease, can stay longer in one item of daily use: pillows .
Research published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal revealed that the virus can linger for long periods of time in this article. This after specialists analyzed the rooms of two students, who were quarantined in a hotel in China after returning from a trip abroad.
Using swabs, the experts collected evidence from patients 'A' and 'B', from the surfaces with which they interacted during their stay.
Patient 'A' returned to China on March 19, while patient 'B' returned the following day.
When they arrived, none had a fever or any of the new symptoms reported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but they were brought to the hotel for two weeks.
Every morning and afternoon, medical personnel checked the body temperature of both, or if they had developed symptoms. During the next day, none showed any signs.
According to the document, almost a week after being quarantined, the patients continued to show no symptoms, but were evaluated in the hospital "as a precaution" and tested positive for the virus , even their feces shed a large number of SARS-CoV-related pathogens. -2. From this, both began to manifest symptoms.
About three hours after his diagnosis, the researchers took surface samples in the two occupied hotel rooms, such as pillowcases, duvets, sheets and towels; as well as door handles, faucets, light switches, and toilets.
Likewise, to add a differentiator to their study, they also collected samples from an unoccupied room.
The result? Of the 11 samples collected in rooms 'A' and 'B', eight were positive for COVID-19. Six were from Patient 'A's room: all of them predominantly on the sheet, the towel, and mainly on the pillowcases.
For its part, the faucet in the chamber of patient 'B' tested positive for coronavirus, and again it was found that a large concentration of virus pathogens came from his pillows. While the unoccupied room, as expected, tested negative.
"Prolonged contact with an object leads to higher levels of contamination, since the virus was found mostly in bedding," the publication explains.
And by turning their attention specifically to the pillows, the scientists warned that nasal and oral flows "rested" there due to hours of sleep.
This is because coronavirus transmitting agents directly from the respiratory system easily remain as "waste", so it is natural that these bedding items store more pathogens compared to others.
In this way, the researchers warn not to shake the clothes before washing them, since, if the virus exists there, it can "jump" to other surfaces.
See also:
WHO warns that COVID-19 does not spread through the air and rejects the use of a mask in public areas
The new ultraviolet light mask that would kill the coronavirus instantly
WHO warns that COVID-19 could become endemic, what does it mean?
Related video: Coronavirus can stay active from 3 hours to 3 days, experts say
