Thread by @DRTomlinsonEP

@WHO director of communications suggests that we need 'a consensus on terminology'; i.e. meaning of the word 'airborne'.

Logical possibilities:

1. She's right: 'airborne' has so many meanings as to render its use invalid.

2. She's wrong: 'airborne' has a single, clear meaning.

https://twitter.com/gabbystern/status/1461367048408207372

🚨 Dictionary evidence

Does this indicate multiple, potentially conflicting meanings, or a single, clear meaning?

🚨 Evidence from WHO teams' use

2014: IPC of epidemic & pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care

'The spread of an infectious agent caused by the dissemination of droplet nuclei that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distances and time. (9)'

🚨 Reference 9 from the 2014 WHO IPC guideline: source

@Don_Milton: when writing this 2004 perspective piece triggered by proven airborne transmission of SARS, DID NOT seek to question the meaning of the word 'airborne'.

And in 2014, WHO teams were happy using it too.

🚨 July 2020 SARS2 IPC Scientific Brief

'Airborne transmission is defined as the spread of an infectious agent caused by the dissemination of droplet nuclei (aerosols) that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distances & time.(11)'

'aerosols' = only diff from 2014

🚨 Reference 11: source?

The 2014 IPC of epidemic & pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care: WHO Guideline

Getting boring isn't it?

WHO teams are soooo comfortable with their use of the word 'airborne' w.r.t. IPC, that they keep quoting their own definition.

🚨 SARS-CoV-2 & the role of airborne transmission: a systematic review (v2, 6th Sept 2021)

[You know, the one sponsored by WHO & denying airborne transmission, rejected due to reviewer concerns over flawed methodology.]

Link:
f1000research.com/articles/10-23…

🚨 'Airborne transmission is defined as the spread of an infectious agent caused by the dissemination of droplet nuclei (aerosols) that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distances & time(1).

IDENTICAL to the July 2020 Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Scientific Brief

@gabbystern I respectfully suggest that the evidence above demonstrates a consensus on 'airborne' terminology dating back to 2004, with WHO teams consistently using near identical wording in multiple publications, most recently Sept 6th 2021.

Given this consensus:

'Airborne transmission is defined as the spread of an infectious agent caused by the dissemination of droplet nuclei (aerosols) that remain infectious when suspended in air over long distances & time'

WHY suggest the need for 'a consensus on terminology'?

@doctorsoumya @MackayIM @trishgreenhalgh @jljcolorado @Iamgoingtosleep @kprather88 @DFisman
#COVIDisAirborne