Transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in public washrooms: A systematic review
Author/s: Sotiris Vardoulakis, Daniela A. Espinoza Oyarce, Erica Donner
File: Go to resource
Publication date: 2021
Summary:
A systematic review of environmental sampling, laboratory, and epidemiological studies on viral and bacterial infection transmission in washrooms using PubMed and Scopus. The review focused on indoor, publicly accessible washrooms. Thirty-eight studies from 13 countries were identified.
Highlights:
- • Public washroom surfaces can become contaminated with bacterial and viral pathogens.
- • Review found no evidence of airborne transmission of COVID-19 within public washrooms.
- • Defective plumbing in high risk environments may increase airborne disease transmission risk.
- • Effective hand hygiene, surface cleaning, and washroom maintenance minimise infection risk.
- • More environmental sampling studies assessing SARS-CoV-2 in public washrooms are needed.
