Estimate of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 using real time tracking of health care workers
Year: 2020
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND Whether and to what degree SARS-CoV-2 is spread via the airborne route is unknown. Using data collected from health care worker interactions with hospitalized patients with COVID-19 illness, we calculated the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 via the airborne route. OBJECTIVES/METHODS Healthcare worker interaction with SARS-CoV-2 infected patients were tracked using a real time location system between March 18 and March 31. A value for q, the transmissibility expressed as quanta per hour, was estimated using a well-established model for airborne transmission. RESULTS SARS-CoV-2 infection prevalence among tracked HCWs was 2.21% (0.07-4.35). Transmissibility was estimated to be 0.225 quanta per hour, well below other well-characterized airborne pathogens. Simulations demonstrated that risk of infection is substantially reduced with increased ventilation of rooms. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is not well transmitted via the airborne route in controlled conditions. We speculate that SARS-CoV-2 may be only opportunistically airborne, with most transmission occurring via droplet methods. One Sentence Summary We calculated the airborne transmissibility (q) of SARS-CoV-2 and the impact of masks and ventilation in a hospital setting.
Source: medRxiv
Institution: Rush University Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3042336665