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Indoor model simulation for covid-19 transport and exposure

Hussein, Tareq ; Löndahl, Jakob LU orcid ; Thuresson, Sara LU ; Alsved, Malin LU orcid ; Al-Hunaiti, Afnan ; Saksela, Kalle ; Aqel, Hazem ; Junninen, Heikki ; Mahura, Alexander and Kulmala, Markku (2021) In International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(6).
Abstract

Transmission of respiratory viruses is a complex process involving emission, deposition in the airways, and infection. Inhalation is often the most relevant transmission mode in indoor environments. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the risk of inhalation transmission is not yet fully understood. Here, we used an indoor aerosol model combined with a regional inhaled deposited dose model to examine the indoor transport of aerosols from an infected person with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to a susceptible person and assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles. Two scenarios with different ventilation rates were compared, as well as adult female versus male recipients. Assuming a source... (More)

Transmission of respiratory viruses is a complex process involving emission, deposition in the airways, and infection. Inhalation is often the most relevant transmission mode in indoor environments. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the risk of inhalation transmission is not yet fully understood. Here, we used an indoor aerosol model combined with a regional inhaled deposited dose model to examine the indoor transport of aerosols from an infected person with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to a susceptible person and assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles. Two scenarios with different ventilation rates were compared, as well as adult female versus male recipients. Assuming a source strength of 10 viruses/s, in a tightly closed room with poor ventilation (0.5 h−1 ), the respiratory tract deposited dose rate was 140–350 and 100–260 inhaled viruses/hour for males and females; respectively. With ventilation at 3 h−1 the dose rate was only 30–90 viruses/hour. Correcting for the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 in air, these numbers are reduced by a factor of 1.2–2.2 for poorly ventilated rooms and 1.1–1.4 for well-ventilated rooms. Combined with future determinations of virus emission rates, the size distribution of aerosols containing the virus, and the infectious dose, these results could play an important role in understanding the full picture of potential inhalation transmission in indoor environments.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Expiratory droplet, Indoor aerosol modeling, Inhaled dose, SARS-CoV-2
in
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
volume
18
issue
6
article number
2927
pages
16 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:33809366
  • scopus:85102372912
ISSN
1661-7827
DOI
10.3390/ijerph18062927
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f788e5ba-df31-4770-856e-805e652edcb6
date added to LUP
2021-03-24 13:13:18
date last changed
2024-06-27 10:41:01
@article{f788e5ba-df31-4770-856e-805e652edcb6,
  abstract     = {{<p>Transmission of respiratory viruses is a complex process involving emission, deposition in the airways, and infection. Inhalation is often the most relevant transmission mode in indoor environments. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the risk of inhalation transmission is not yet fully understood. Here, we used an indoor aerosol model combined with a regional inhaled deposited dose model to examine the indoor transport of aerosols from an infected person with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to a susceptible person and assess the potential inhaled dose rate of particles. Two scenarios with different ventilation rates were compared, as well as adult female versus male recipients. Assuming a source strength of 10 viruses/s, in a tightly closed room with poor ventilation (0.5 h<sup>−1</sup> ), the respiratory tract deposited dose rate was 140–350 and 100–260 inhaled viruses/hour for males and females; respectively. With ventilation at 3 h<sup>−1</sup> the dose rate was only 30–90 viruses/hour. Correcting for the half-life of SARS-CoV-2 in air, these numbers are reduced by a factor of 1.2–2.2 for poorly ventilated rooms and 1.1–1.4 for well-ventilated rooms. Combined with future determinations of virus emission rates, the size distribution of aerosols containing the virus, and the infectious dose, these results could play an important role in understanding the full picture of potential inhalation transmission in indoor environments.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hussein, Tareq and Löndahl, Jakob and Thuresson, Sara and Alsved, Malin and Al-Hunaiti, Afnan and Saksela, Kalle and Aqel, Hazem and Junninen, Heikki and Mahura, Alexander and Kulmala, Markku}},
  issn         = {{1661-7827}},
  keywords     = {{Expiratory droplet; Indoor aerosol modeling; Inhaled dose; SARS-CoV-2}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}},
  title        = {{Indoor model simulation for covid-19 transport and exposure}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18062927}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/ijerph18062927}},
  volume       = {{18}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}