Effect of speech volume on respiratory emission of oral bacteria as a potential indicator of pathogen transmissibility risk.
J Acoust Soc Am
; 148(4): 2322, 2020 10.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-901221
ABSTRACT
Respiratory droplets emitted during speech can transmit oral bacteria and infectious viruses to others, including COVID-19. Loud speech can generate significantly higher numbers of potentially infectious respiratory droplets. This study assessed the effect of speech volume on respiratory emission of oral bacteria as an indicator of potential pathogen transmission risk. Loud speech (average 83 dBA, peak 94 dBA) caused significantly higher emission of oral bacteria (p = 0.004 compared to no speech) within 1 ft from the speaker. N99 respirators and simple cloth masks both significantly reduced emission of oral bacteria. This study demonstrates that loud speech without face coverings increases emission of respiratory droplets that carry oral bacteria and may also carry other pathogens such as COVID-19.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiration
/
Speech Acoustics
/
Bacteria
/
Bacterial Infections
/
Inhalation Exposure
/
Air Microbiology
/
Mouth
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Acoust Soc Am
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
10.0002278
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS