Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Public Transportation Vehicles: A Case Study in Hunan Province, China

Kaiwei Luo; Zhao Lei; Zheng Hai; Shanliang Xiao; Jia Rui; Hao Yang; Xinping Jing; Hui Wang; Zhengshen Xie; Ping Luo; Wanying Li; Qiao Li; Huilu Tan; Zicheng Xu; Yang Yang; Shixiong Hu; Tianmu Chen

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa430

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Public Transportation Vehicles: A Case Study in Hunan Province, China

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Sep 13;7(10):ofaa430. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa430. eCollection 2020 Oct.

Authors

Kaiwei Luo¹, Zhao Lei², Zheng Hai³, Shanliang Xiao⁴, Jia Rui², Hao Yang¹, Xinping Jing³, Hui Wang⁴, Zhengshen Xie³, Ping Luo⁴, Wanying Li³, Qiao Li³, Huilu Tan³, Zicheng Xu³, Yang Yang⁵, Shixiong Hu¹, Tianmu Chen²

Affiliations

¹ Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Workstation for Emerging Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences), Changsha City, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China.
² State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, School of Public Health, Xiamen University, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China.
³ Shaodong Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shaodong City, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Shaoyang Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shaodong City, Hunan Province, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Health Professions, Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.

Abstract

Here we report a case study of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak event during bus trips of an index patient in Hunan Province, China. This retrospective investigation suggests potential airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the possibility of superspreading events in certain close contact and closed space settings, which should be taken into account when control strategies are planned.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; probable airborne transmission; vehicles.

Abstract

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