Journal ArticleDOI
Role of ventilation in airborne transmission of infectious agents in the built environment - a multidisciplinary systematic review.
Yiping Li,Gabriel M. Leung,Julian W. Tang,Xudong Yang,Christopher Y.H. Chao,J.Z. Lin,J.W. Lu,Per Væggemose Nielsen,Jianlei Niu,Hua Qian,Adrian Sleigh,Huey-Jen Jenny Su,Jan Sundell,Tze Wai Wong,P.L. Yuen +14 more
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TLDR
In this article, a review panel comprising medical and engineering experts in the fields of microbiology, medicine, epidemiology, indoor air quality, building ventilation, etc. systematically assessed 40 original studies through both individual assessment and a 2-day face-to-face consensus meeting.Abstract:
There have been few recent studies demonstrating a definitive association between the transmission of airborne infections and the ventilation of buildings. The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and current concerns about the risk of an avian influenza (H5N1) pandemic, have made a review of this area timely. We searched the major literature databases between 1960 and 2005, and then screened titles and abstracts, and finally selected 40 original studies based on a set of criteria. We established a review panel comprising medical and engineering experts in the fields of microbiology, medicine, epidemiology, indoor air quality, building ventilation, etc. Most panel members had experience with research into the 2003 SARS epidemic. The panel systematically assessed 40 original studies through both individual assessment and a 2-day face-to-face consensus meeting. Ten of 40 studies reviewed were considered to be conclusive with regard to the association between building ventilation and the transmission of airborne infection. There is strong and sufficient evidence to demonstrate the association between ventilation, air movements in buildings and the transmission/spread of infectious diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, chickenpox, influenza, smallpox and SARS. There is insufficient data to specify and quantify the minimum ventilation requirements in hospitals, schools, offices, homes and isolation rooms in relation to spread of infectious diseases via the airborne route. PRACTICAL IMPLICATION: The strong and sufficient evidence of the association between ventilation, the control of airflow direction in buildings, and the transmission and spread of infectious diseases supports the use of negatively pressurized isolation rooms for patients with these diseases in hospitals, in addition to the use of other engineering control methods. However, the lack of sufficient data on the specification and quantification of the minimum ventilation requirements in hospitals, schools and offices in relation to the spread of airborne infectious diseases, suggest the existence of a knowledge gap. Our study reveals a strong need for a multidisciplinary study in investigating disease outbreaks, and the impact of indoor air environments on the spread of airborne infectious diseases.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design
Roger S. Ulrich,Craig Zimring,Xuemei Zhu,Jennifer R. DuBose,Hyun-Bo Seo,Young-Seon Choi,Xiaobo Quan,Anjali Joseph +7 more
TL;DR: This review found a growing body of rigorous studies to guide healthcare design, especially with respect to reducing the frequency of hospital-acquired infections and the state of knowledge of evidence-based healthcare design has grown rapidly in recent years.
Journal ArticleDOI
How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?
Lidia Morawska,Julian W. Tang,William P. Bahnfleth,Philomena M. Bluyssen,AC Atze Boerstra,Giorgio Buonanno,Junji Cao,Stephanie J. Dancer,Andres Floto,Francesco Franchimon,Charles S. Haworth,Jaap Hogeling,Christina Isaxon,Jose L. Jimenez,Jarek Kurnitski,Yuguo Li,Marcel G.L.C. Loomans,Guy B. Marks,Linsey C. Marr,Livio Mazzarella,Arsen Krikor Melikov,Shelly L. Miller,Donald K. Milton,William W. Nazaroff,Peter Nielsen,Catherine J. Noakes,Jordan Peccia,Xavier Querol,Chandra Sekhar,Olli Seppänen,Shin Ichi Tanabe,Raymond Tellier,Kwok Wai Tham,Pawel Wargocki,Aneta Wierzbicka,Maosheng Yao +35 more
TL;DR: It is argued that existing evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant engineering controls targeting airborne transmission as part of an overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors, and that the use of engineering controls in public buildings would be an additional important measure globally to reduce the likelihood of transmission.
Journal ArticleDOI
Recognition of aerosol transmission of infectious agents: a commentary
TL;DR: This review considers the commonly used term of ‘aerosol transmission’ in the context of some infectious agents that are well-recognized to be transmissible via the airborne route, and discusses other agents, like influenza virus, where the potential for airborne transmission is much more dependent on various host, viral and environmental factors, and where its potential for aerosol transmission may be underestimated.
Journal ArticleDOI
Factors involved in the aerosol transmission of infection and control of ventilation in healthcare premises
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the factors involved in the generation of an infectious aerosol, transmission of infectious droplets or droplet nuclei from this aerosol and the potential for inhalation of such droplets by a susceptible host, and make recommendations to improve the control of aerosol-transmitted infections in hospitals as well as in the design and construction of future isolation facilities.
Journal ArticleDOI
Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses.
Chia C. Wang,Chia C. Wang,Kimberly A. Prather,Josué Sznitman,Jose L. Jimenez,Jose L. Jimenez,Seema S. Lakdawala,Zeynep Tufekci,Linsey C. Marr,Linsey C. Marr +9 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss current evidence regarding the transmission of respiratory viruses by aerosols-how they are generated, transported, and deposited, as well as the factors affecting the relative contributions of droplet-spray deposition versus aerosol inhalation as modes of transmission.
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