Experimental evaluation of respiratory droplet spread to rooms connected by a central ventilation system.
Indoor Air
; 32(1): e12940, 2022 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1638822
ABSTRACT
This article presents results from an experimental study to ascertain the transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus between rooms in a building that are connected by a central ventilation system. Respiratory droplet surrogates made of mucus and virus mimics were released in one room in a test building, and measurements of concentration levels were made in other rooms connected via the ventilation system. The paper presents experimental results for different ventilation system configurations, including ventilation rate, filtration level (up to MERV-13), and fractional outdoor air intake. The most important finding is that respiratory droplets can and do transit through central ventilation systems, suggesting a mechanism for viral transmission (and COVID-19 specifically) within the built environment in reasonable agreement with well-mixed models. We also find the deposition of small droplets (0.5-4 µm) on room walls to be negligibly small.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ventilation
/
Air Pollution, Indoor
/
Air Microbiology
/
COVID-19
/
Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Indoor Air
Journal subject:
Environmental Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Ina.12940
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