[D66] CDC: Besmetting middels Corona-aerosolen mogelijk (Wuhan Coronavirus 2019-nCoV #348)

[Dr. Marc-Alexander Fluks]

Bron:   Reuters
Datum:  5 oktober 2020
Auteur: Vishwadha Chander
URL:    
https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-19-could-spread-airborne-180753410.html


CDC revises guidance, says COVID-19 can spread through virus
lingering in air
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(Reuters) - U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 
Monday said COVID-19 can spread through virus lingering in the air, 
sometimes for hours, acknowledging concerns widely voiced by public 
health experts about airborne transmission of the virus.

The CDC guidance comes weeks after the agency published – and then took 
down – a similar warning, sparking debate over how the virus spreads.

In Monday's guidance, CDC said there was evidence that people with 
COVID-19 possibly infected others who were more than 6 feet away, within 
enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

Under such circumstances, CDC said scientists believe the amount of 
infectious smaller droplet and particles, or aerosols, produced by the 
people with COVID-19 become concentrated enough to spread the virus.

The CDC has long warned of transmission through small droplets that 
shoot through the air and generally fall to the ground, which resulted 
in the six-feet social distancing rule. Aerosol droplets are much 
smaller still, and can remain suspended in the air, like smoke.

While CDC stresses close-contact transmission is more common than 
through air, a group of U.S. scientists warned in an unrelated open 
letter published in medical journal Science on Monday that aerosols 
lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/10/02/science.abf0521/tab-pdf

'The reality is airborne transmission is the main way that transmission 
happens at close range with prolonged contact,' the researchers said in 
a press call.

Viruses in aerosols can remain in the air for seconds to hours, travel 
more than two meters and accumulate in poorly ventilated indoor air, 
leading to superspreading events, the researchers said.

Since individuals with COVID-19 release thousands of virus-laden 
aerosols and far fewer droplets while breathing and talking, the 
scientists said the focus must be on protecting against airborne 
transmission.

They also said that public health officials should clearly differentiate 
between droplets ejected by coughing or sneezing and aerosols that can 
carry the virus to greater distances

Public health officials must highlight the importance of moving 
activities outdoors and improving indoor air, along with wearing mask 
and social distancing, the letter said.

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(c) 2020 Reuters