Role of bioaerosol in virus transmission and material‐based countermeasures

Abstract

Respiratory pathogens transmit primarily through particles such as droplets and aerosols. Although often overlooked, the resuspension of settled droplets is also a key facilitator of disease transmission. In this review, we discuss the three main mechanisms of aerosol generation: direct generation such as coughing and sneezing, indirect generation such as medical procedures, and resuspension of settled droplets and aerosols. The size of particles and environmental factors influence their airborne lifetime and ability to cause infection. Specifically, humidity and temperature are key factors controlling the evaporation of suspended droplets, consequently affecting the duration in which particles remain airborne. We also suggest material-based approaches for effective prevention of disease transmission. These approaches include electrostatically charged virucidal agents and surface coatings, which have been shown to be highly effective in deactivating and reducing resuspension of pathogen-laden aerosols.

A Novel Vision of Reinforcing Nanofibrous Masks with Metal Nanoparticles: Antiviral Mechanisms Investigation

“…The aerosol pathway is a critical way of spreading viruses, especially for highly transmittable respiratory infections such as H1N1 [8], which is capable of changing the cluster size of the virus according to temperature, atmospheric pH, and hygroscopicity that can directly influence the movement of virus particles in the nasopharyngeal passages [230]. Furthermore, H1N1 can shape clusters with the size of 400 nm and then they grow larger in the saliva to form aerosols the size of 0.7 mm to 6 µm, which can easily spread in the environment by the change in airflow trajectory during sneezing and coughing [231].…”

“…Although the severity and mortality of COVID-19 are less than most of other epidemic coronaviruses (i.e., SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV), it is much more transmissive and can be easily spread via the virus-containing droplets originating from sneezing, coughing, exhalation, or by contacting contaminated materials [7]. The aerosol pathway cannot be neglected as the most critical and dominant way of the virus to spread [8]. Even though a majority of the population in developed and developing countries have received vaccines, high mutation rates in the genome of COVID-19 [9] have been leading to emergence of new variants (i.e., Omicron [10]) that can cause a whole different type of symptoms, sometimes more severe and long-lasting complications, beyond the immunizing power of the vaccines which were introduced so far.…”

“…Besides, there are still some unvaccinated populations due to specific beliefs or vaccine hesitancy. Therefore, wearing face masks as the first line of defense is still part of the WHO protocol and the best-recommended strategy for managing the outbreak due to the reduction of the risk of infection and preventing transmission of droplets, small carriers of respiratory viruses, either from the surroundings to the healthy wearer or from the infected wearer to the surroundings [8].…”

A Drug-Free Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Nasal Spray to Prevent Emerging Respiratory Infections

“…We contend that the sub-optimal clinical efficacy of previous chemoprophylactic nasal sprays can be attributed, at least in part, to their dependence on a single mode of action, which usually entails either pathogen neutralization or the creation of a physical barrier to hinder pathogen entry through the nasal lining. Furthermore, since pathogens gain access to the nasal cavity through large respiratory droplets( 24 ), an optimal prophylactic strategy should also prioritize the effective capture of these droplets laden with pathogens. This necessitates preventing them from bouncing off, a factor that has not been addressed in prior approaches.…”

Resuspension of Seeded Particles Containing Live Influenza A Virus in a Full-Scale Laboratory

“…Hyytiainen et al (2018) [11] reported that bacteria and fungal levels were 8 to 21 fold higher in the breathing zone of a crawling infant robot compared to those measured in the breathing zone of an adult. Numerous other investigations on the resuspension of bioaerosols, primarily bacteria and fungi, have been conducted within the last two decades [9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, the resuspension of viruses or particles containing viruses via human activity has not been studied experimentally.…”