Surface interactions of aerosols and their impact on infectious disease transmission

Abstract

Infection transmission has been a major health concern indoors. Exposure analysis and risk analysis are the fundamentals of effectively controlling and managing infection transmission, which requires a clear understanding of transmission mode. A significant fraction of airborne pathogens deposits onto surfaces. Some of these deposited pathogens could be resuspended by airflow or mechanical disturbances and become airborne again, leading to prolonged exposure risk via the airborne mode. Hence, pathogen resuspension can contribute significantly in indoor infection transmission. Understanding the impact of resuspension on infection transmission is crucial for a complete risk assessment scheme. This work intends to improve the current capability of modelling resuspension processes and explore the impact of the resuspension processes on infection transmission by developing a new risk assessment scheme.