Environ Pollut . Ticking bomb: Prolonged faecal shedding of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and environmental implications

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Environ Pollut


. 2020 Dec;267:115485.
doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115485. Epub 2020 Sep 8.
Ticking bomb: Prolonged faecal shedding of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and environmental implications


Olubukola Olayemi Olusola-Makinde ¹ , Rine Christopher Reuben ²



Affiliations

• PMID: 33254708
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115485

Abstract

The current global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a tremendous public health challenge globally. While the respiratory transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been established, evolving reports on the impact of the gastrointestinal system and the prolonged faecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 show the likelihood of faecally mediated transmission. The increasing evidential presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and faecal material poses a significant public health threat which may potentiate global vulnerability to high risk of human exposure through environmental drivers especially in less developed countries. While extensively exploring the likelihood of faecally mediated SARS-CoV-2 transmission, infection control and prevention measures aimed at mitigating this pandemic should holistically include environmental drivers.

Keywords: COVID-19; Environment; Faecal-oral transmission; Pandemic; Public health.