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Coronavirus pandemic
WorldAmericas

Coronavirus can live for four days on animal skin: US military study

  • Researchers tested stability of pathogen on various surfaces, including paper currency and pig skin
  • Scientists highlight meatpacking plants as ongoing routes of transmission

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A US study has found that the new coronavirus can live for days on pig skin, which is similar to human skin. Photo: EPA-EFE
Stephen Chen
The novel coronavirus can live for days on animal skin, according to researchers from the biggest US military bioweapons laboratory.
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In Fort Detrick, Maryland, army researchers tested the virus on the surface of various substances, including uncirculated paper currency supplied by the US Secret Service and unused cotton-polyester fabric, according to a non-peer-reviewed paper posted on the preprint site medRxiv.org on Friday.

They found that of the samples, the virus could survive the longest at room temperature on pig skin – up to four days. And it remained stable on the skin in refrigerated temperatures throughout the two-week experiment.

The researchers with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases said they were concerned that meat plants could help the coronavirus spread.

“Without an extensive testing and contract tracing programme, transmission around meatpacking plants will likely continue to be an issue,” said the team led by David Harbourt from the base’s biosafety division.

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The US study followed a surprise outbreak of the coronavirus in Beijing last month. Most of the 300-plus cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the pathogen, were linked to a food market selling meat and vegetable products from home and abroad. The outbreak led to a partial lockdown of China’s capital and virus testing for more than 10 million residents.
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