Table 1.
Detection and isolation of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from environmental samples
| Sample type | Virus detection and/or isolation methods | Genetic genes analyzed | Limit of detection (viable virus) | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feces | rRT-PCR | ORF1ab gene. | <40 Ct. | W. Wang et al. (2020) |
| Urine | RT–PCR and Vero E6 cells. | ORF1ab gene and N-gene. | NA | Sun et al. (2020) |
| Feces | qRT-PCR and Vero E6 cells with the indirect immunofluorescent assay. | N-gene and ORF1ab gene. | NA | Xiao et al. (2020a) |
| Urine and feces | qPCR and Vero E6 cells with Immunofluorescence antibody assays. | S-gene | 0.3 log10 copies/mL per reaction | Jeong et al. (2020) |
| Feces | Vero E6 cells | NA | Unclear | Y. Zhang et al. (2020) |
| River water and seawater | RT-qPCR and TCID50 assays, and Vero E6 cells | N-gene | 4.5 gc/μl | Sala-Comorera et al. (2021) |
| Tap water and untreated primary influent | RT-qPCR and Vero E6 cells | E-gene | Below 5.6 TCID50/mL | Bivins et al. (2020) |
| Tap water | plaque assay with Vero cells | N-gene | 103 PFU/mL |
Lee et al. (2020) |
| Air sample (hospital room) | rRT-PCR and Vero E6 cells | N-gene | 6 to 74 TCID 50 units/L of air | Lednicky et al. (2020) |
| Air sample (from a car with COVID-19 patient) | Centrifugation; rRT-PCR and Vero E6 cells | N-gene | 0.25–0.50 μm | Lednicky et al. (2021) |
| Aerosol (Rooms in hospital wards) | rRT-PCR and Vero E6 cells | E-gene | 20 TCID50/mL | Santarpia et al. (2020) |
| Plastic | End-point titration on Vero E6 cells | NA | 3.2 TCID50/mL (3–4 days) | van Doremalen et al. (2020) |
| Food material (Salmon) | Vero E6 cells | NA | 102 TCID50/mL | Dai et al. (2021) |
ORF refers to an Open Reading Frame. NA refers to not available.