Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Nov 1;63(11):e783-e791.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002366.

Aerosol Transmission of Infectious Disease and the Efficacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): A Systematic Review

Laramie Locke  1 , Oluwabunmi Dada, Jacob S Shedd
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Aerosol Transmission of Infectious Disease and the Efficacy of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): A Systematic Review

Laramie Locke et al. J Occup Environ Med. .

Abstract

Objective: Health care professionals and governmental agencies are in consensus regarding contact and droplet transmission of infectious diseases. However, personal protective equipment (PPE) efficacy is not considered for aerosol or airborne transmission of infectious diseases. This review discusses the inhalation of virus-laden aerosols as a viable mechanism of transmission of various respiratory infectious diseases and PPE efficacy.

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews, and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines was used.

Results: The transmission of infectious disease is of concern for all respirable diseases discussed (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, MERS, influenza, and tuberculosis), and the effectiveness of facemasks is dependent on the efficiency of the filter, fit, and proper use.

Conclusion: PPE should be the last resort in preventing the spread of infectious disease and should only be used for protection and not to control the transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Process of selecting studies for inclusion in the review.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Themes deduced from the review.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Infectious diseases from articles reviewed.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vuorinen V, Aarnio M, Alava M, et al. . Modelling aerosol transport and virus exposure with numerical simulations in relation to SARS-CoV-2 transmission by inhalation indoors. Saf Sci 2020; 130:104866. - PMC - PubMed
    1. da Costa VG, Saivish MV, Santos DER, de Lima Silva RF, Moreli ML. Comparative epidemiology between the 2009 H1N1 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics. J Infect Public Health 2020; 13:1797–1804. - PMC - PubMed
    1. CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID Data Tracker; 2020a. Available at: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker. Accessed December 26, 2020.
    1. WHO. World Health Organization. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard; 2021. Available at: https://covid19.who.int. Accessed June 18, 2021.
    1. Statista. COVID-19 Death Rate by Country | Statista; 2021. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1105914/coronavirus-death-rates-worl.... Accessed June 9, 2021.