Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Mar 6, 2021; 9(7): 1499-1512
Published online Mar 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i7.1499
Review of the risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 transmission
Xia Li, Wei-Yi Xia, Fang Jiang, Dan-Yong Liu, Shao-Qing Lei, Zheng-Yuan Xia, Qing-Ping Wu
Xia Li, Qing-Ping Wu, Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, Hubei Province, China
Wei-Yi Xia, Poznan University of Medical Science, Poznan 60-781, Poland
Fang Jiang, Zheng-Yuan Xia, Department of Anesthesiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Dan-Yong Liu, Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524000, Guangdong Province, China
Shao-Qing Lei, Department of Anesthesiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Li X and Xia WY conceived the idea for this review; Xia ZY and Wu QP directed the work; Li X drafted the manuscript; Jiang F, Liu DY, and Lei SQ participated in the discussion; Xia ZY and Wu QP revised the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China, No. 2018YFC2001900; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81873952 and No. 81670770.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing-Ping Wu, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1277 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan 430022, Hubei Province, China. wqp1968@163.com
Received: October 27, 2020
Peer-review started: October 27, 2020
First decision: December 8, 2020
Revised: December 22, 2020
Accepted: January 22, 2021
Article in press: January 22, 2021
Published online: March 6, 2021
Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, which has lasted for nearly a year, has made people deeply aware of the strong transmissibility and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 since its outbreak in December 2019. By December 2020, SARS-CoV-2 had infected over 65 million people globally, resulting in more than 1 million deaths. At present, the exact animal origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unclear and antiviral vaccines are now undergoing clinical trials. Although the social order of human life is gradually returning to normal, new confirmed cases continue to appear worldwide, and the majority of cases are sporadic due to environmental factors and lax self-protective consciousness. This article provides the latest understanding of the epidemiology and risk factors of nosocomial and community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, as well as strategies to diminish the risk of transmission. We believe that our review will help the public correctly understand and cope with SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Transmission, Infection, Nosocomial, Risk

Core Tip: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has not only placed a heavy burden on the health system but has also led to significant sociological, psychological, and economic adverse effects globally. A comprehensive understanding is needed of the risk factors of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and strategies to diminish this risk. At the same time, people need to act in a socially responsible and cohesive manner, thus creating a common living space with a low risk of infection.