Microbiology and Infectious Diseases postgraduate teaching (PRIDA)

Papers that related to COVID-19 infection prevention and control from the daily COVID-19 Critical Intelligence Unit  listings and other identified literature.  This posting does not assess the specific evidence or its quality. Please let me know of any gaps – @mdjkf.

Evidence summaries from the IPC Panel of the National COVID19 Evidence Taskforce on respirators, masks and eye protection will be published soon on MagicApp (comment made 15/5/21).

Peer-reviewed

• Thompson et al. Transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 in specific settings: systematic review and meta-analysis here [Twenty-eight studies reported healthcare-based contacts, 10 of which met inclusion criteria for meta-analysis]
• Aghalari et al. A systematic review on SARS-CoV-2 transmission prevention in hospital air here [11 articles were included in this study]
• Nasiri et al Comparing saliva and nasopharyngeal swab specimens for SARS-CoV-2 detection here [14 studies ; no significant difference in detection]
• Katelaris et al Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during church singing in Sydney here [This cluster occurred despite adherence to guidelines requiring microphone use and a 3-m cordon around singers]
• Hogan et al.  Acquisition of COVID‐19 by healthcare workers in Western Australia here [26 locally acquired cases examined. Ten health care workers acquired the infection in the workplace – direct HCW to HCW transmission implicated in 7 cases.]
• Genomic characteristics and clinical effect of B.1.1.7 (UK / Kent) variant in London here [No difference in illness severity. Viral load by proxy was higher in B.1.1.7 samples than in non-B.1.1.7 samples, as measured by cycle threshold value]
• Karimzadeh et al. A rapid review on infective dose, routes of transmission, and outcome of COVID-19 compared with other respiratory viruses here [An accurate quantitative estimate of the infective dose of SARS-CoV-2 in humans is not currently feasible and needs further research. Our review suggests that it is small, perhaps about 100 particles]
• Goldstein et al.  A systematic review on the risk of transmitting COVID-19 during nebuliser treatment here [..Case series raise concern of transmission risk, and simulation studies demonstrate droplet dispersion with virus recovery, but specific evidence that exposure to nebulizer treatment increases transmission of coronaviruses similar to COVID-19 is inconclusive]
• Carazo et al. Infection control practices in SARS-CoV-2 infected healthcare workers in Canada here
• Spada et al. The role of climate on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 here  […this study demonstrates that climatic factors significantly influence the spread of SARS-CoV-2]

Editorial

• BMJ Tang et al.  COVID-19 and the definition of airborne transmission here [“..It is now clear that SARS-CoV-2 transmits mostly between people at close range through inhalation”]  

Preprints

• Buising et al. Portable air cleaners to reduce aerosol transmission on a hospital COVID-19 ward here [Aerosols rapidly travelled from the patient room into other parts of the ward. Air cleaners were effective in increasing the clearance of aerosols from the air in clinical spaces and reducing their spread to other areas (experimental study)] 
• Galanis et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the impact of PPE use on healthcare workers here [14 studies with 11,746 HCWs from 16 countries.  The frequency of adverse events amongst HCWs due to PPE use is very high.]
• Bazant et al. Carbon dioxide monitoring to quantify risk of indoor airborne transmission of COVID-19 here
• Lyngse et al. Increased Transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 by Age and Viral Load: Evidence from Danish Households here.  [Primary cases infected with B.1.1.7 had an increased transmissibility of 1.5-1.7 times that of primary cases infected with other lineages]
• Hyde et al.  Commentary from Australia on airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 here

Commentary and correspondence

• Greenhalgh et al.  Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 here
• BMJ Barniuk.  Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 here
• UK SAGE advice Mahase. Wider use of FFP3 masks may be needed for airborne transmission here.
• Allen et al.  Indoor air changes and potential implications for SARS-CoV-2 transmission here
• Kuehn, JAMA:  COVID-19 in clinicians here [The investigators examined reports of 152 888 infections and 1413 deaths among health care workers in 195 countries ]
• Mehta et al. Lancet Resp Med:  The toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers here
• Rapid spread of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in COVID-19 units in the US here