Viral cultures for assessing airborne infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 viral cultures following positive RNA samples in the air is low, suggesting that while viral RNA may be present, the likelihood of detecting culturable, infectious viruses is substantially lower. Our findings underscore the need for standardized guidelines to assess and report the infectivity and potential for transmissibility of airborne viruses, including the consistent reporting of Ct values and methods to mitigate bias.
Authors
- David H. Evans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5871-299X)
- Annette Plüddemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2101-0390)
- Jon Brassey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7812-6311)
- Igho Onakpoya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2420-0811)
- Elena Cecilia Roşca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2412-1942)
- Susanna Maltoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5097-4685)
- Carl J. Heneghan
- Tom Jefferson
- Sara Gandini
- John M. Conly
Institutions
- Alberta Health Services (CA)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara (RO)
- Azienda USL di Bologna (IT)
- European Institute of Oncology (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Infectious Diseases
- Published
- 2025-12-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-12430-z
- Primary Topic
- Infection Control and Ventilation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00