Open AccessRole of bioaerosol in virus transmission and material‐based countermeasures
Author(s) -
Joseph John,
Baby Helna Mary,
Zhao Spencer,
Li XiangLing,
Cheung KriscoCheuk,
Swain Kabir,
Agus Eli,
Ranganathan Sruthi,
Gao Jingjing,
Luo James N,
Joshi Nitin
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
exploration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2766-2098
pISSN - 2766-8509
DOI - 10.1002/exp.20210038
Subject(s) - bioaerosol , aerosol , environmental science , transmission (telecommunications) , evaporation , covid-19 , meteorology , disease , medicine , physics , infectious disease (medical specialty) , computer science , pathology , telecommunications
Respiratory pathogens transmit primarily through particles such as droplets and aerosols. Although often overlooked, the resuspension of settled droplets is also a key facilitator of disease transmission. In this review, we discuss the three main mechanisms of aerosol generation: direct generation such as coughing and sneezing, indirect generation such as medical procedures, and resuspension of settled droplets and aerosols. The size of particles and environmental factors influence their airborne lifetime and ability to cause infection. Specifically, humidity and temperature are key factors controlling the evaporation of suspended droplets, consequently affecting the duration in which particles remain airborne. We also suggest material‐based approaches for effective prevention of disease transmission. These approaches include electrostatically charged virucidal agents and surface coatings, which have been shown to be highly effective in deactivating and reducing resuspension of pathogen‐laden aerosols.