*Fantastic* deep review by Wang et al. shows why conversations about #airborne viruses are so important -- not just now or for COVID, but also for many other respiratory diseases.
incl. @kprather88 @jljcolorado @Lakdawala_Lab @zeynep @linseymarr (🧵 1/x)
science.sciencemag.org/content/373/65…
2/ This is one press release summarizing the important work:
"IT’S NOT JUST SARS-COV-2: MOST RESPIRATORY VIRUSES SPREAD BY AEROSOLS"
scripps.ucsd.edu/news/its-not-j…
3/ "Given all that we have learned about SARS-CoV-2 infection, the aerosol transmission pathway needs to be reevaluated for all respiratory infectious diseases."
This is well beyond academic -- this knowledge is the critical underpinnings of why airborne mitigations are urgent.
4/ Why important: "Improved understanding of aerosol transmission brought about by studies of ... SARS-CoV-2 infection requires a reevaluation of the major transm. pathways for other respiratory viruses, which will allow better-informed controls to reduce airborne transmission."
5/ Breaking down the basic process of respiratory aerosol disease transmission, from exhalation, through transport, and to deposition.
6/ Remember that viruses don't fly around naked, they are encased in aerosols with complex properties.
7/ The size of a particle expelled through talking or speaking matters a lot, because the bigger a particle, the more quickly gravity pulls it out of the air. Small respiratory aerosols can stay suspended for hours.
8/ The good news with all of this is that there are decades-proven strategies to improve indoor air -- e.g. by flushing out contaminated air & replacing with fresh air; by adding room HEPA filtration; and by disinfecting air i.e. via upper-room gUV.
9/ The particle size in which pathogens are encased matters a lot, because it determines where in your body they will lodge & severity of disease. Smaller aerosols travel deep into the lungs and initiate pulmonary infection.
10/ Review by Wang et al. presents critical & advancing knowledge on airborne disease transmission
See also our related review (pre-preprint) from March:
"Respiratory aerosols & droplets in the transmission of infectious diseases" arxiv.org/abs/2103.01188…
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