Outdoor Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review
- PMID: 33249484
- PMCID: PMC7798940
- DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa742
Outdoor Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Background: While risk of outdoor transmission of respiratory viral infections is hypothesized to be low, there are limited data on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in outdoor compared to indoor settings.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed papers indexed in PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science and preprints in Europe PMC through 12 August 2020 that described cases of human transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Reports of other respiratory virus transmission were included for reference.
Results: Five identified studies found a low proportion of reported global SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred outdoors (<10%) and the odds of indoor transmission was very high compared to outdoors (18.7 times; 95% confidence interval, 6.0-57.9). Five studies described influenza transmission outdoors and 2 adenovirus transmission outdoors. There was high heterogeneity in study quality and individual definitions of outdoor settings, which limited our ability to draw conclusions about outdoor transmission risks. In general, factors such as duration and frequency of personal contact, lack of personal protective equipment, and occasional indoor gathering during a largely outdoor experience were associated with outdoor reports of infection.
Conclusions: Existing evidence supports the wide-held belief that risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is lower outdoors but there are significant gaps in our understanding of specific pathways.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronaviruses; outdoor; transmission.
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Similar articles
-
Universal screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection: a rapid review.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 15;9:CD013718. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013718. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020. PMID: 33502003
-
SARS-CoV-2: exposure to high external doses as determinants of higher viral loads and of increased risk for COVID-19. A systematic review of the literature.Epidemiol Prev. 2020 Sep-Dec;44(5-6 Suppl 2):152-159. doi: 10.19191/EP20.5-6.S2.114. Epidemiol Prev. 2020. PMID: 33412806 English.
-
Which factors influence the extent of indoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2? A rapid evidence review.J Glob Health. 2021 Apr 3;11:10002. doi: 10.7189/jogh.11.10002. J Glob Health. 2021. PMID: 33828849 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Ocular tropism of coronavirus (CoVs): a comparison of the interaction between the animal-to-human transmitted coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, CoV-229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1) and the eye.Int Ophthalmol. 2021 Jan;41(1):349-362. doi: 10.1007/s10792-020-01575-2. Epub 2020 Sep 3. Int Ophthalmol. 2021. PMID: 32880786 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Nov 20;11:CD006207. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub5. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020. PMID: 33215698
Cited by 2 articles
-
Quantifying The Relationship Between Lockdowns, Mobility, and Effective Reproduction Number (Rt) During The COVID-19 Pandemic in The Greater Toronto Area.Res Sq. 2021 Apr 8:rs.3.rs-378425. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-378425/v1. Preprint. Res Sq. 2021. PMID: 33851152 Free PMC article.
-
Autumn COVID-19 surge dates in Europe correlated to latitudes, not to temperature-humidity, pointing to vitamin D as contributing factor.Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 21;11(1):1981. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81419-w. Sci Rep. 2021. PMID: 33479261 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous
