<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-covid_medical_worker.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-covid_medical_worker.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273 400w, https://s.w-x.co/util/image/w/in-covid_medical_worker.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551 800w" > File photo: Medical workers from East China's Zhejiang Province wear protective suits at the Wuhan pulmonary hospital in Wuhan, China (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu/IANS)

As of April 2, the novel coronavirus pandemic has spread across 203 countries and territories around the world, killing more than 47,200 individuals and infecting more than 9.4 lakh people.

Most, if not all transmission of the virus thus far, has been observed to have taken place when an individual has come into contact with respiratory droplets and droplet nuclei emitted by infected persons through coughing, sneezing, talking, and direct/indirect touching.

Meanwhile, several other modes of transmission have also been discussed and studied since the outbreak of COVID-19. And now, a new study has found evidence that hints at the possibility of airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus, reports the South China Morning Post. In spite of its findings, however, the researchers have insisted that this “does not confirm the airborne spread” of the deadly virus just yet.

Airborne transmission of a virus occurs through tiny aerosol droplets which are smaller than 5 micrometers in diametre. These droplets can linger in the air for hours, and anyone inhaling them can effectively get infected with the said virus. In the case of the novel coronavirus, such transmission could also cause more damage, as the virus gets inhaled deep into the lungs.

To examine the likelihood of airborne transmission in the case of the novel coronavirus, researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Centre and the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska collected air samples from 11 rooms where 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were being treated.

After studying the samples, genetic material from the coronavirus—which was emitted by the patients—was naturally found in obvious places such as lavatories and daily-use items. But more importantly, 63.2% of the air samples collected from the inside of the rooms, and 66.7% of those taken from outside those rooms, also showed traces of the virus. The in-room samples had higher traces of the virus than those taken from the corridors.

The highest concentration of the virus’ genome, however, was found 2 metres away from a patient who was receiving oxygen through a nasal tube.

Such circumstances particularly increase the possibility of airborne transmission of COVID-19, says the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“In the context of COVID-19, airborne transmission may be possible in specific circumstances and settings in which procedures or support treatments that generate aerosols are performed; i.e., endotracheal intubation, bronchoscopy, open suctioning, administration of nebulised treatment, manual ventilation before intubation, turning the patient to the prone position, disconnecting the patient from the ventilator, non-invasive positive-pressure ventilation, tracheostomy, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” the WHO stated in a scientific brief on March 29.

Furthermore, Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the top experts in this field, has also insisted that he simply could not rule out this possibility, due to the “limited evidence that some potential for airborne transmission exists”.

On the other hand, it is also important to not jump the gun, and interpret these initial findings carefully.

In its brief, the WHO highlighted one such experimental study that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which concluded that “people may acquire the virus through the air and after touching contaminated objects”.

However, not only was the experimental laboratory setting used in this study far different from a clinical setting, but the machines used to generate aerosols were too high-powered to accurately reflect normal human cough conditions.

Therefore, more research on this subject, particularly one that can be seamlessly applied to the real world, is an absolute must before airborne transmission of COVID-19 can be declared as a genuine possibility.

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