Indoor Model Simulation for COVID-19 Transport and Exposure

Abstract

Transmission of respiratory viruses is a complex process involving emission, deposition in the airways, and infection. Inhalation is often the most relevant transmission mode in indoor environments. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the risk of inhalation transmission is not yet fully understood. Here, we used an indoor aerosol model combined with a regional inhaled deposited dose model to examine the indoor transport of aerosols from an infected person with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to a susceptible person and assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles. Two scenarios with different ventilation rates were compared, as well as adult female versus male recipients. Assuming a source strength of 10 viruses/s, in a tightly closed room with poor ventilation (0.5 h−1), the respiratory tract deposited dose rate was 140–350 and 100–260 inhaled viruses/hour for males and females; respectively. With ventilation at 3 h−1 the dose rate was only 30–90 viruses/hour. Correcting for the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 in air, these numbers are reduced by a factor of 1.2–2.2 for poorly ventilated rooms and 1.1–1.4 for well-ventilated rooms. Combined with future determinations of virus emission rates, the size distribution of aerosols containing the virus, and the infectious dose, these results could play an important role in understanding the full picture of potential inhalation transmission in indoor environments.

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“…COVID-19 is a complex respiratory syndrome caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an enveloped RNA virus extremely transmissible through respiratory aerosols [ 1 ]. This virus, which can lead to pulmonary failure and fatality, has a noticeable genetic similarity to the beta-coronaviruses that cause SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome [ 2 ].…”

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“…Based on the study results, it is important to develop complex indoor surveys involving monitoring of air quality, thermal microclimate, and particularly the respiratory functions [ 53 ]. There are several useful insights that can be used in further experiments applying indoor air modeling [ 30 , 31 ], but more attention should be also given to mold and dampness, ventilation (determined from CO 2 concentrations), and exposure to selected indoor air pollutants that are specific in the facilities of a university.…”

“…Indoor air modeling supports the understanding of viruses’ inhalation transmission including SARS-CoV-2 in indoor environments by approximating how the inhaled amount of viruses is affected by factors such as room ventilation, breathing flow rate, gender, room size, aerosol size distribution, exposure time, level of exercise, and the type of vocal activity [ 31 ]. The lifelong sum of all the environmental contributions to human physiology and pathophysiology forms the exposome, which is a relatively new developed paradigm for studying the health consequences of the environment [ 32 ].…”

“…Variations of this model were successfully used to assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles [ 30 ] including SARS-CoV-2 virus [ 31 ], and the parametric analysis to examine indoor PM2.5 concentrations according to flow rates and filter efficiency under various outdoor concentrations and indoor levels [ 32 ].…”

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