{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,18]],"date-time":"2026-06-18T00:41:44Z","timestamp":1781743304295,"version":"3.54.5"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.51590.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1623628800000}},{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.51590.2","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1623628800000}}],"reference-count":19,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1623628800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100004423","name":"World Health Organization","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["No2020\/1077093"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No2020\/1077093"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100004423","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p><ns3:bold>Background:<\/ns3:bold>SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been detected in fomites which suggests the virus could be transmitted via inanimate objects. However, there is uncertainty about the mechanistic pathway for such transmissions. Our objective was to identify, appraise and summarise the evidence from primary studies and systematic reviews assessing the role of fomites in transmission.\u00a0<\/ns3:p><ns3:p><ns3:bold>Methods:<\/ns3:bold>This review is part of an Open Evidence Review on Transmission Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. We conduct ongoing searches using WHO Covid-19 Database, LitCovid, medRxiv, and Google Scholar; assess study quality based on five criteria and report important findings on an ongoing basis.<\/ns3:p><ns3:p><ns3:bold>Results:<\/ns3:bold>We found 64 studies: 63 primary studies and one systematic review (n=35). The settings for primary studies were predominantly in hospitals (69.8%) including general wards, ICU and SARS-CoV-2 isolation wards. There were variations in the study designs including timing of sample collection, hygiene procedures, ventilation settings and cycle threshold. The overall quality of reporting was low to moderate. The frequency of positive SARS-CoV-2 tests across 51 studies (using RT-PCR) ranged from 0.5% to 75%. Cycle threshold values ranged from 20.8 to 44.1. Viral concentrations were reported in 17 studies; however, discrepancies in the methods for estimation prevented comparison. Eleven studies (17.5%) attempted viral culture, but none found a cytopathic effect. Results of the systematic review showed that healthcare settings were most frequently tested (25\/35, 71.4%), but laboratories reported the highest frequency of contaminated surfaces (20.5%, 17\/83).\u00a0<\/ns3:p><ns3:p><ns3:bold>Conclusions:<\/ns3:bold>The majority of studies report identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on inanimate surfaces; however, there is a lack of evidence demonstrating the recovery of viable virus. Lack of positive viral cultures suggests that the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through fomites is low. Heterogeneity in study designs and methodology prevents comparisons of findings across studies. Standardized guidelines for conducting and reporting research on fomite transmission is warranted.<\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.51590.3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]],"date-time":"2021-06-14T10:45:08Z","timestamp":1623667508000},"page":"233","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":61,"title":["SARS-CoV-2 and the role of fomite transmission: a systematic review"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2420-0811","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Igho J.","family":"Onakpoya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1009-1992","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carl J.","family":"Heneghan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9079-8006","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth A.","family":"Spencer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7812-6311","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jon","family":"Brassey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Annette","family":"Pl\u00fcddemann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5871-299X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David H.","family":"Evans","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"John M.","family":"Conly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tom","family":"Jefferson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref-1","article-title":"WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard"},{"key":"ref-2","article-title":"Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: implications for infection prevention precautions"},{"key":"ref-3","article-title":"Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC precaution recommendations"},{"key":"ref-4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"130","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2334-6-130","article-title":"How long do nosocomial pathogens persist on inanimate surfaces? 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How to Protect Yourself & Others"},{"key":"ref-18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","article-title":"Contamination of air and surfaces in workplaces with SARS-CoV-2 virus: a systematic review","author":"J Cherrie","DOI":"10.1093\/annweh\/wxab026"},{"key":"ref-19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"900-903","DOI":"10.1513\/AnnalsATS.202008-931RL","article-title":"Association of SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Load with COVID-19 Patient Outcomes.","volume":"18","author":"I Zacharioudakis","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann Am Thorac Soc."}],"container-title":["F1000Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v3\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v3\/pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v3\/iparadigms","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,31]],"date-time":"2022-12-31T01:34:56Z","timestamp":1672450496000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v3"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]]},"references-count":19,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.51590.3","relation":{},"ISSN":["2046-1402"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2046-1402","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,14]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v3#article-reports","order":0,"name":"referee-status","label":"Referee status","group":{"name":"current-referee-status","label":"Current Referee Status"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.56906.r86161, Emanuel Goldman, Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA, 03 Jun 2021, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v2#referee-response-86161","order":0,"name":"referee-response-86161","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.56906.r86160, Ana Karina Pitol Garcia, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK, 03 Jun 2021, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/10-233\/v2#referee-response-86160","order":1,"name":"referee-response-86160","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The review was funded by the World Health Organization: Living rapid review on the modes of transmission of SARs-CoV-2 reference WHO registration No2020\/1077093. CH and ES also receive funding support from the NIHR SPCR Evidence Synthesis Working Group project 390. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.","order":2,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}