COVID-19 THROUGH PLUMBING

Since 2003 scientists discovered SARS could live in sewage, it has been understood that the transmission of SARS was a direct result of plumbing systems leaking into living areas infecting residents. SARScov2 has been found in stools and urine of infected patients and yet we have little data to determine if we should be protecting our homes. Many are unaware that floor wastes are often connected to sewerage systems and this causes added risks to our health every day.

Floor waste and shower vents were suspected to be likely source for infecting residents from a large apartment complex in Hong Kong which many citizens died in 2003. We learned from the SARS outbreak In Hong Kong protecting our health through floor waste protection could be one simple step to help avoid infection, Hong Kong residents had no warning of the possible danger inside the home.

SARS reoccurred in February 2020 once again in Hong Kong with the virus being renamed COVID-19. A worldwide pandemic has now affected us all.

Below are links to Historical information and evidence we must protect our floor vents from leaking out infectious plumes that can transmit the COVID-19 virus to occupants in our homes, work environments and social situations such as restaurants, airports and hotels.

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What do we know about Covid transmission via pipes and ventilation? 29 January 2021 Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles discusses the Auckland outbreak in MIQ hotels and other locations around the world

China’s Block X – transmission through the drainage system 15 December 2020. A big clue that it wasn’t a lift was three families lived on different floors of the building, but their apartments were vertically aligned and connected by drainage pipes in the master bathrooms. To prevent such transmission, bioaerosols can be controlled at the source by avoiding any potential gas leaks from the drainage system to indoor spaces. For example, to block fecal aerosol transmission, drainage traps, such as U-shaped water traps, should not be allowed to dry out.

Seoul, South Korea, outbreak in 2020 airborne infection through bathroom investigations found no other possible contact between cases.. The virus from the first infected case can be spread to upstairs and downstairs through the air duct by the (reverse) stack effect, which explains the air movement in a vertical shaft. However, unlike the case of Hong Kong, the drains of the toilet were not connected with those of sink, bathtub, or floor, in this case. The apartment is vertically connected with a shaft through blowholes at the bathroom. Further detailed information can be located in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases Volume 104, March 2021, Pages 73-76

Coronavirus traces found in sewage in highly-populated Sydney suburbs including Bondi despite ZERO confirmed cases in the areas By KYLIE STEVENS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA - PUBLISHED: 24 September 2020

Remnants of the COVID-19 virus have been detected in raw sewage across Sydney as part of a new research program undertaken by NSW Health and Sydney Water. By NSW Health 26 September 2020

Sewage testing detects COVID fragments by NSW Health 06 October 2020

COVID-19: mitigating transmission via wastewater plumbing systems -March 23, 2020 - This Is an excellent and informative article and well worth reading with links to many other quality published articles By its very design, the wastewater plumbing system is a harbinger of pathogenic microorganisms with, under some circumstances, the potential to enable airborne transmission of viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Minimizing Coronavirus Transmission through Hospital Mechanical and Plumbing Systems - Published 24 mar 2020 - Facility managers inquired about best practices for plumbing systems. Studies by WHO have shown a possibility for contamination through floor drains, contamination is due to the trap of the fixture being depleted through air pressure changes in the piping.

The Chronological Data of 2020

Various reporters and microbiologists made statements about a recent coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong Feb 2020 in a 35 storey apartment complex which houses 3000 residents, 5 persons were infected living 10 floors apart, virus spread suspected from connected plumbing pipes.

Published comments on February 12, 2020

Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Reported Two cases appeared to suggest that the Coronavirus had spread possibly through a pipe.

CNN reported Hong Kong health authorities are investigating if Coronavirus can be spread via communal sewage systems; residents were evacuated because their toilet discharge pipes were linked.

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung currently the Chair of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong said at a press conference “that an improperly sealed pipe could have resulted in a recent Coronavirus transmission”.

Wong Ka-hing, from the Centre for Health Protection, told reporters "We are not sure what was the exact route of transmission. Nonetheless the occupants of 35 flats connected to the same drainage system were moved out”.

Channel News Asia - More than 100 residents forced to evacuate in the early hours by Health officials in masks and white overalls after four residents tested positive for Coronavirus

In Australia recent events of the virus being found in sewerage tested This is the recent follow up story from that outbreak by the Chronicle in Australia Virus spread that’s left scientists baffled - by Ben Graham - 11th Mar 2020

Helpful Coronavirus information online - The topic: Urine and stools

I have found information on the Internet that may be of interest to you on the topic of tests in which stools and urine had the coronavirus present.

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Coronavirus in stools and urine

Coronavirus Lurking in Faeces May Reveal Hidden Risk of Spread

Coronavirus study implicates fecal transmission

Plumbers Health Safety in the workplace

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Understanding Coronavirus exposure for plumbing professionals - International Association of plumbing and mechanical officials - Published March 11 2020 by Peter DeMarco Vice president of Research

Staying safe from the coronavirus when you work in other people’s homes - Published March 19th, 2020 - For plumbers, repair people and cable service technicians, staying safe means asking questions. Call ahead. Don't work in a home where someone is sick

Minimizing Coronavirus Transmission through Hospital Mechanical and Plumbing Systems - Published 24 mar 2020 Facility managers inquired about best practices for plumbing systems. Studies by WHO have shown a possibility for contamination through floor drains, contamination is due to the trap of the fixture being depleted through air pressure changes in the piping.

Environmental cleaning and disinfection principles for COVID-19 - Australian government

COVID-19: mitigating transmission via wastewater plumbing systems - (This Is an excellent and informative article and well worth reading with links to many other quality published articles) Published by: The Lancet Global Health - March 23, 2020 - By Michael Gormley - Thomas J Aspray - David A Kelly - By its very design, the wastewater plumbing system is a harbinger of pathogenic microorganisms with, under some circumstances, the potential to enable airborne transmission of viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Coronavirus in Plumbing Systems - Professional plumbing, heating, cooling and piping community - Published March 10, 2020 author Pete DeMarco

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Acknowledgement and Thank you to publications, reporters, researchers, medical professionals and scientists who published the information found on several of our web pages who are: Australian Health Department, Science Direct, ACP Journals, Daily Mail in UK, Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles and The Spin off in NZ, Michael Gormley, Thomas J Aspray, David A Kelly and The Lancet Global Health, Jeff Harris, Facilities Net. Katie Kerwin McCrimmon, UCHealth, NCBI, Annals, CNN, The Chronicle, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, Kylie Stevens Daily Mail, Center of Health Protection Hong Kong, Channel News Asia, Lam Yik Fei New York Times, Michael Gormley, PhD CEng, Min Kang MSc, Jianjian Wei PhD, Jun Yuan MSc, Juxuan Guo MSc, Yingtao Zhang, MSc Jian Hang PhD, Yabin Qu MSc, Hua Qian PhD, Yali Zhuang MSc, Xuguang Chen MSc, Xin Peng MSc, Tongxing Shi BSc, Jun Wang MSc, Jie Wu PhD, Tie Song MSc, Jianfeng He BSc, Yuguo Li PhD and Nanshan Zhong PhD, Yuen Kwok-yung, Wong Ka-hing.