Indoor air quality in hospital environments, aircraft, cruise ships and the risk of airborne transmission by Coronavirus

Abstract

Viruses represent a common cause of infectious disease acquired indoors, as they are easily transmitted, especially in crowded and poorly ventilated environments. Recently, the world has been experiencing the pandemic of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome of Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to verify in the international literature the risk of transmission of the virus by aerosols in acclimatized environments, such as hospitals, aircraft and cruise ships. It was an integrative literature review. The guiding question of this review was: Can the coronavirus spread through the indoor air of acclimatized environments such as hospitals, aircraft and ships and pose a risk of transmission to users of these environments? The researched literature revealed that viral aerosols can compromise indoor air quality and facilitate the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, more research must be carried out to corroborate these findings and urgent measures are also needed to improve the cleanliness and hygiene of these environments, in addition to checking the renewal and filtering of indoor air in isolation rooms in hospitals, aircraft and cruise ships.