Conventional wisdom land that airborne computer virus like influenza and Covid-19 can only be transmitted by respiratory droplets that are liberate when an infected person coughing or sneezes , yet new research may have just shatter that laying claim . According to a study in the journalNature Communications , flu - like viruses can also be carry through the air bydust , fibers , and other lilliputian particle that are not of a respiratory origin .
It is well known that subaltern object like door hold or table surfaces can also go around virus if infect droplets land on them . fuck asfomites , these secondary transmitters come in all shapes and sizes , yet the subject authors wanted to recognize if microscopical particles in the air – know as aerosolized vehicle – could also carry influenza virus .
To enquire , they first used an automatize molecule sizer to measure how many airborne particles are kicked up by guinea pigs as they move around their cages . resultant demo that the rodents tended to rack up up swarm of about 1,000 minuscule particles with each major movement .
Next , the research worker coated the pelt of immune ginzo pigs with an grippe virus and find that this virus stay feasible for at least four days . As the animals moved around during this period , the computer virus on their fur became aerosolized and circularise to another cage that housed 12 non - immune guinea pig , three of which became infected .
In other words , the computer virus was carry by aerosolize vehicle from one cage to another , proving that grippe can be transmitted by petite particles that do not originate in the respiratory tract of an infected individual .
" It ’s really lurid to most virologists and epidemiologist that airborne dust , rather than expiratory droplet , can carry influenza computer virus capable of infecting beast , " said bailiwick source Professor William Ristenpart , from the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering , in astatement .
" The unquestioning assumption is always that airborne infection occurs because of respiratory droplets emitted by cough , sneeze , or mouth . Transmission via dust open up up whole new areas of investigating and has profound conditional relation for how we interpret laboratory experiments as well as epidemiological investigations of outbreaks . "
To look into further , the researcher treated theme tissue with flu , before letting them dry out out for about 30 to 45 minutes . They then rumple the dry out tissue using their hand and found that this released around 900 aerosolized fomite per second .
These particles were then collected and used to infect cells in a petri dish , indicating that tiny fibers of dried tissue paper composition can also successfully transmit flu virus .
At present tense , there is much debate within the scientific community as tohow Covid-19 is spread , with the World Health Organization ( WHO ) in the beginning claiming that the virus could only be impart via direct contact with respiratory droplets . However , many scientist have argued that these droplets canbecome aerosolizedand linger in the air travel , which mean that people can catch the computer virus without coming into contact with an septic individual .
Yet this latest subject area takes this hypothesis a measure further , suggesting that computer virus can even attach to other airborne particles such as dust , which then transmit these pathogens as they trip through the air .
