A novel approach to assess risk factors is the use of manikins in a controlled environment. Healthcare workers treating influenza patients are particularly prone to infection as they can be exposed to multiple patients in closed examination rooms over the course of a day.
A recent study of indoor locations where jet travelers are likely to interact with locals determined that RH is one of the primary factors associated with aerosol transmission of influenza. Influenza RNA has been detected in the exhaled breath and coughs of patients with influenza – and clinical studies during influenza seasons indicated that influenza was detected in aerosol particles ≤4 µm. However, air samples were not collected to confirm that guinea pigs housed at different RHs shed similar amounts of aerosolized virus.ĭuring the winter, people spend the majority of their time indoors and the risk of aerosol transmission of influenza by coughing, sneezing and breathing is a concern because respirable particles carrying influenza may remain airborne for prolonged periods. In their study, transmission rates were 75–100% at 20%, 35%, and 65% RH, but only 25% at 50% RH and 0% at 80% RH. used a guinea pig model to directly test whether humidity affected aerosol transmission of influenza from infected animals to uninfected animals, housed in adjacent but separate cages in an environmental chamber with five RHs ranging from 20–80% at 20☌. The aerodynamic diameters of the aerosolized particles were not determined in any of these studies therefore, the influence of particle size on inactivation of virus has not been reported. Other studies, revealed that survival was optimum at low RH, moderate at high RH and minimum at middle RH. Previous studies using influenza aerosols in small settling chambers generally concluded that aerosolized virus was inactivated at high relative humidity (RH) but survived much better at low RH. Winter influenza outbreaks occur with seasonal regularity in temperate climates and it has been suggested that humidity may affect transmission. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.įunding: This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. Received: DecemAccepted: JanuPublished: February 27, 2013 University of Illinois at Chicago, United States of America (2013) High Humidity Leads to Loss of Infectious Influenza Virus from Simulated Coughs.
Citation: Noti JD, Blachere FM, McMillen CM, Lindsley WG, Kashon ML, Slaughter DR, et al.
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