Evidence of Airborne Transmission of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Virus
Ignatius Tak-sun Yu,Yuguo Li,Tze Wai Wong,Wilson W.S. Tam,Andy Chan,Joseph H.W. Lee,Dennis Y.C. Leung,Thomas C. Ho +7 more
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Airborne spread of the virus appears to explain this large community outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong, and future efforts at prevention and control must take into consideration the potential for airborne spread of this virus.Abstract:
background There is uncertainty about the mode of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. We analyzed the temporal and spatial distributions of cases in a large community outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong and examined the correlation of these data with the three-dimensional spread of a virus-laden aerosol plume that was modeled using studies of airflow dynamics. methods We determined the distribution of the initial 187 cases of SARS in the Amoy Gardens housing complex in 2003 according to the date of onset and location of residence. We then studied the association between the location (building, floor, and direction the apartment unit faced) and the probability of infection using logistic regression. The spread of the airborne, virus-laden aerosols generated by the index patient was modeled with the use of airflow-dynamics studies, including studies performed with the use of computational fluid-dynamics and multizone modeling. results The curves of the epidemic suggested a common source of the outbreak. All but 5 patients lived in seven buildings (A to G), and the index patient and more than half the other patients with SARS (99 patients) lived in building E. Residents of the floors at the middle and upper levels in building E were at a significantly higher risk than residents on lower floors; this finding is consistent with a rising plume of contaminated warm air in the air shaft generated from a middle-level apartment unit. The risks for the different units matched the virus concentrations predicted with the use of multizone modeling. The distribution of risk in buildings B, C, and D corresponded well with the three-dimensional spread of virus-laden aerosols predicted with the use of computational fluiddynamics modeling. conclusions Airborne spread of the virus appears to explain this large community outbreak of SARS, and future efforts at prevention and control must take into consideration the potential for airborne spread of this virus.read more
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Impacts of SARS on health-seeking behaviors in general population in Hong Kong.
TL;DR: The community in Hong Kong responded to the SARS epidemic by practicing more favorable health-seeking behaviors, and increases in healthy diet and weight control, etc., were observed during that period.
Journal ArticleDOI
Routes of transmission of influenza A H1N1, SARS CoV, and norovirus in air cabin: Comparative analyses.
Hao Lei,Yuguo Li,Shenglan Xiao,Chao-Hsin Lin,Sharon L. Norris,Daniel Wei,Zhongmin Hu,Shengcheng Ji +7 more
TL;DR: A model to simulate outbreaks of 3 different in‐flight infections in a similar cabin environment, that is, influenza A H1N1, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, and norovirus, suggested that the fomite route played the dominant role in most cases.
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Modelling aerosol transport and virus exposure with numerical simulations in relation to SARS-CoV-2 transmission by inhalation indoors
Ville Vuorinen,Mia Aarnio,Mikko J. Alava,Ville Alopaeus,Nina S. Atanasova,Nina S. Atanasova,Mikko Auvinen,Nallannan Balasubramanian,Hadi Bordbar,Panu Erästö,Rafael Grande,Nick Hayward,Antti Hellsten,Simo Hostikka,Jyrki Hokkanen,Ossi Kaario,Aku Karvinen,Ilkka Kivistö,Marko Korhonen,Risto Kosonen,Janne Kuusela,Sami Lestinen,Erkki Laurila,Heikki J. Nieminen,Petteri Peltonen,Juho Pokki,Antti Puisto,Peter Råback,Henri Salmenjoki,Tarja Sironen,Monika Österberg +30 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provided research findings on the physics of aerosol dispersion relevant to the hypothesized aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and used physics-based modeling at different levels of complexity, and literature on coronavirus, to investigate the possibility of airborne transmission.
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Effectiveness of handwashing in preventing SARS: a review.
TL;DR: The evidence for the effectiveness of handwashing as a measure against SARS transmission in health care and community settings is suggestive, but not conclusive.
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Temporal-Spatial Analysis of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome among Hospital Inpatients
TL;DR: The temporal-spatial spread of SARS in the ward was consistent with airborne transmission, as modeled by use of computational fluid dynamics, which likely acted as secondary sources in the latter phase of the outbreak.
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