Reducing risks from coronavirus transmission in the home—the role of viral load

Little, Paul; Read, Robert C.; Amlôt, Richard; Chadborn, Tim; Rice, Cathy; Bostock, Jennifer; Yardley, Lucy

doi:10.1136/bmj.m1728

Cited by 52 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although some providers have lived apart from their families, it is recommended that providers continue to stay at home with their families [33][34][35]. This preserves everyone's mental health.…”

Section: Mitigating Risk For Providers' Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of COVID-19 due to Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment

Jain¹

2020

Cureus

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The supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) is inadequate throughout the United States and the world. This is especially true of N95 respirators. The cost of PPE is high. There are numerous cases of providers working with inadequate PPE and being disciplined on complaining. In the United States, thousands of providers have contracted COVID-19, in part due to inadequate PPE. Extended use and reuse of N95 respirators has been permitted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The N95 respirators can be sterilized utilizing vaporized hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or dry heat at 70°C-80°C. The risk to providers due to inadequate PPE increases with their age and presence of comorbidities. African-Americans and Latinos are at a greater risk. CDC recommends that in the absence of appropriate PPE, "exclude healthcare personnel at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 from contact with known or suspected COVID-19 patients." Providing care without appropriate PPE should not be a condition of employment for any provider, especially for the ones in high-risk category.

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Section: Mitigating Risk For Providers' Familiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk of COVID-19 due to Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment

Jain¹

2020

Cureus

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“…For instance, a rapid dissemination of the infection in care homes would potentially overwhelm medical assistance. And furthermore, repeat and constant exposure to circulating virus occurring in enclosed environments increases the viral load, whichhas, on its part, been associated with more severe COVID-19 and worse clinical outcomes[11,12].…”

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confidence: 99%

Death Rate Due to COVID-19 in Alzheimer’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia

Matías‐Guiu

Pytel

Matías‐Guiu

2020

JAD

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We aimed to evaluate the frequency and mortality of COVID-19 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We conducted an observational case series. We enrolled 204 patients, 15.2% of whom were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 41.9% of patients with the infection died. Patients with AD were older than patients with FTD (80.36±8.77 versus 72.00±8.35 years old) and had a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension (55.8% versus 26.3%). COVID-19 occurred in 7.3% of patients living at home, but 72.0% of those living at care homes. Living in care facilities and diagnosis of AD were independently associated with a higher probability of death. We found that living in care homes is the most relevant factor for an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and death, with AD patients exhibiting a higher risk than those with FTD.

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“…In February, a team of World Health Organization (WHO) researchers led by David Heymann investigated the outbreak in Wuhan, China, and concluded that the large majority of transmission events occurred within indoor clusters 24 between family members (accounting for 75%-85% of estimated infections) and coworkers, with no identified cases of child-to-adult transmission identified. 15 In addition, some data suggest that severity of outcomes is associated with initial exposure It may be that advanced age alone, in the absence of preexisting conditions, is less of an independent risk factor than has been assumed.…”

Section: Clear Evidence-based Information Is Often Lackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…viral-load levels. [24][25][26] Moreover, it increasingly appears that infection risk from contaminated surfaces has been at least somewhat overstated, as the CDC recently acknowledged. 27 Indeed, it is conceivable that future science historians may conclude that many current COVID-19 prevention strategies had little if any impact, particularly because they targeted drivers of spread accounting for no more than a small proportion of total infections.…”

Section: Clear Evidence-based Information Is Often Lackingmentioning

confidence: 99%