Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses

Abstract

Mechanisms of airborne transmission The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted controversies and unknowns about how respiratory pathogens spread between hosts. Traditionally, it was thought that respiratory pathogens spread between people through large droplets produced in coughs and through contact with contaminated surfaces (fomites). However, several respiratory pathogens are known to spread through small respiratory aerosols, which can float and travel in air flows, infecting people who inhale them at short and long distances from the infected person. Wang et al . review recent advances in understanding airborne transmission gained from studying the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and other respiratory pathogens. The authors suggest that airborne transmission may be the dominant form of transmission for several respiratory pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, and that further understanding of the mechanisms underlying infection from the airborne route will better inform mitigation measures. —GKA

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Affiliated Institutions

• Virginia Tech US
• Technion – Israel Institute of Technology IL
• National Sun Yat-sen University TW
• Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences US
• University of Pittsburgh US
• University of Colorado Boulder US
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill US
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography US
• University of California, San Diego US

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