Potential Fecal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current Evidence and Implications for Public Health

Amirian, E Susan

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Potential Fecal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current Evidence and Implications for Public Health

International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Forthcoming

26 Pages Posted: 1 May 2020

See all articles by E Susan Amirian

E Susan Amirian

Texas Policy Lab, School of Social Sciences, Rice University

Date Written: April 22, 2020

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in Hubei Province, China in December 2019 and has since become a global pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of cases and over 165 affected countries. Primary routes of transmission of the causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), are through respiratory droplets and close person-to-person contact. While information about other potential modes of transmission are relatively sparse, evidence supporting the possibility of a fecally-mediated mode of transmission has been accumulating. Here, current knowledge on the potential for fecal transmission is briefly reviewed and the possible implications are discussed from a public health perspective.

Note: Funding: None.

Conflict of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to report.

Keywords: coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, fecal-oral transmission

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Amirian, E Susan, Potential Fecal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current Evidence and Implications for Public Health (April 22, 2020). International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3582880