The coronavirus pandemic and aerosols: Does COVID-19 transmit via expiratory particles?

Asadi, Sima; Bouvier, Nicole M.; Wexler, Anthony S.; Ristenpart, William D.

doi:10.1080/02786826.2020.1749229

Cited by 670 publications

(657 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Furthermore, there is good agreement across the studies that normal breathing and talking result in size distributions of droplets with the majority, 80-90%, in the <1 µm range . In short, from these and other similar observations, there has been growing acceptance in the daily public press and discussions among health experts that transmission occurring from asymptomatic persons is an important pathway (Asadi, Bouvier, Wexler, & Ristenpart, 2020;Lewis, 2020;Meselson, 2020;Morawska & Cao, 2020).…”

Section: Case Reports Of Asymptomatic Persons Transmitting Sars-cov-2mentioning

confidence: 76%

Consideration of the Aerosol Transmission for COVID‐19 and Public Health

et al. 2020

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This article analyzes the available evidence to address airborne, aerosol transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. We review and present three lines of evidence: case reports of transmission for asymptomatic individuals in association with studies that show that normal breathing and talking produce predominantly small droplets of the size that are subject to aerosol transport; limited empirical data that have recorded aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 particles that remain suspended in the air for hours and are subject to transport over distances including outside of rooms and intrabuilding, and the broader literature that further supports the importance of aerosol transmission of infectious diseases. The weight of the available evidence warrants immediate attention to address the significance of aerosols and implications for public health protection.

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Section: Case Reports Of Asymptomatic Persons Transmitting Sars-cov-2mentioning

confidence: 76%

Consideration of the Aerosol Transmission for COVID‐19 and Public Health

et al. 2020

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“…The contribution of aerosol exposure to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been the subject of recent intensive debate. Whereas the World Health Organization has dismissed this mode of transmission [60], scientists have emphasized that infected individuals represent emission sources of aerosol generated by routine behaviors-such as breathing, speaking, singing, coughing, sneezing, and resuspension activity-all of which might be capable of transmitting disease [61,62]. Because the short history of the COVID-19 pandemic has been marred by large amounts of misinformation, it becomes critically important to provide a definitive answer to the question as to whether or not the disease is transmitted by aerosol.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vulnerability: the potential impact of genetic susceptibility and airborne transmission

et al. 2020

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The recent coronavirus disease , caused by SARS-CoV-2, is inarguably the most challenging coronavirus outbreak relative to the previous outbreaks involving SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. With the number of COVID-19 cases now exceeding 2 million worldwide, it is apparent that (i) transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is very high and (ii) there are large variations in disease severity, one component of which may be genetic variability in the response to the virus. Controlling current rates of infection and combating future waves require a better understanding of the routes of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and the underlying genomic susceptibility to this disease. In this mini-review, we highlight possible genetic determinants of COVID-19 and the contribution of aerosol exposure as a potentially important transmission route of SARS-CoV-2.

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“…Fast photography application allowed them to show the physics behind size distribution of droplets and to determine the distance that viral emissions can reach [4]. Indeed, Asadi et al (2019) paid more attention to the particle's number and to the size distribution of aerosol emissions occurring during human speech, discovering a high variability among individuals [5]. A further instrumental approach for droplet visualization in the exhalations produced during ordinary speaking was provided by Anfinrud et al (2020), and the protective effect of face masks was evaluated as well [6].…”

Section: Covid-19: What Evidence Is There About a Possible Airborne Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne Transmission Route of COVID-19: Why 2 Meters/6 Feet of Inter-Personal Distance Could Not Be Enough

Setti

Passarini

Gennaro

et al. 2020

IJERPH

598

482

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused the shutdown of entire nations all over the world. In addition to mobility restrictions of people, the World Health Organization and the Governments have prescribed maintaining an inter-personal distance of 1.5 or 2 m (about 6 feet) from each other in order to minimize the risk of contagion through the droplets that we usually disseminate around us from nose and mouth. However, recently published studies support the hypothesis of virus transmission over a distance of 2 m from an infected person. Researchers have proved the higher aerosol and surface stability of SARS-COV-2 as compared with SARS-COV-1 (with the virus remaining viable and infectious in aerosol for hours) and that airborne transmission of SARS-CoV can occur besides close-distance contacts. Indeed, there is reasonable evidence about the possibility of SARS-COV-2 airborne transmission due to its persistence into aerosol droplets in a viable and infectious form. Based on the available knowledge and epidemiological observations, it is plausible that small particles containing the virus may diffuse in indoor environments covering distances up to 10 m from the emission sources, thus representing a kind of aerosol transmission. On-field studies carried out inside Wuhan Hospitals showed the presence of SARS-COV-2 RNA in air samples collected in the hospitals and also in the surroundings, leading to the conclusion that the airborne route has to be considered an important pathway for viral diffusion. Similar findings are reported in analyses concerning air samples collected at the Nebraska University Hospital. On March 16th, we have released a Position Paper emphasizing the airborne route as a possible additional factor for interpreting the anomalous COVID-19 outbreaks in northern Italy, ranked as one of the most polluted areas in Europe and characterized by high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. The available information on the SARS-COV-2 spreading supports the hypothesis of airborne diffusion of infected droplets from person to person at a distance greater than two meters (6 feet). The inter-personal distance of 2 m can be reasonably considered as an effective protection only if everybody wears face masks in daily life activities.

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The coronavirus pandemic and aerosols: Does COVID-19 transmit via expiratory particles?

Cited by 670 publications

References 24 publications

Consideration of the Aerosol Transmission for COVID‐19 and Public Health

Consideration of the Aerosol Transmission for COVID‐19 and Public Health

COVID-19 vulnerability: the potential impact of genetic susceptibility and airborne transmission

Airborne Transmission Route of COVID-19: Why 2 Meters/6 Feet of Inter-Personal Distance Could Not Be Enough

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