Airborne Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): What We Know

Jonathan M Samet¹, Kimberly Prather², Georges Benjamin³, Seema Lakdawala⁴, John-Martin Lowe⁵, Arthur Reingold⁶, John Volckens⁷, Linsey C Marr⁸

Affiliations

¹ Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
³ American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., USA.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁶ Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.

PMID: 33458756
PMCID: PMC7929061
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab039

Airborne Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): What We Know

Jonathan M Samet et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2021.

. 2021 Nov 16;73(10):1924-1926.

doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab039.

Authors

Jonathan M Samet¹, Kimberly Prather², Georges Benjamin³, Seema Lakdawala⁴, John-Martin Lowe⁵, Arthur Reingold⁶, John Volckens⁷, Linsey C Marr⁸

Affiliations

¹ Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
³ American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C., USA.
⁴ Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁶ Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
⁸ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.

PMID: 33458756
PMCID: PMC7929061
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab039

Abstract

We examine airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) potential using a source-to-dose framework beginning with generation of virus-containing droplets and aerosols and ending with virus deposition in the respiratory tract of susceptible individuals. By addressing 4 critical questions, we identify both gaps in addressing 4 critical questions with answers having policy implications.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; airborne transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a virtual workshop. Available at: https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/08-26-2020/airborne-transmission.... Accessed 9 October 2020.
1. Prather KA, Marr LC, Schooley RT, McDiarmid MA, Wilson ME, Milton DK. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Science 2020: eabf0521. - PubMed
1. Wells WF. On air-borne infection: study II. Droplets and droplet nuclei. Am J Epidemiol 1934; 20:611–8.
1. Morawska L, Johnson GR, Ristovski ZD, et al. Size distribution and sites of origin of droplets expelled from the human respiratory tract during expiratory activities. J Aerosol Sci 2009; 40:256–69.
1. van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, et al. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1. N Engl J Med 2020; 382: 1564–7. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions
Actions

Substances

Actions

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
- The Lens - Patent Citations Database
- scite Smart Citations
Medical
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Airborne Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): What We Know

Affiliations

Airborne Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): What We Know

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous