2024-05-03 23:15:09
The Covid-19 pandemic has raised the question of the most effective strategies to implement to limit the spread of viruses, which are spread in particular through the air we breathe.
On this subject, a study from the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) published in the journal Nature Communications on April 25 showed a correlation between the concentration of CO2 in a room and the length of time that viruses remain suspended in the room of contagious air, New Atlas reports.
CO2 monitors
CO2 is an indirect indicator of the risk of viral transmission, since its concentration in the air varies depending on the ventilation of a room and the number of people there.
During the pandemic, CO2 monitors were therefore used. However, the concentration of CO2 linked to respiration has a direct effect on the pH of the room, which is itself a determining factor in the ability of an airborne virus to remain infectious. A more direct link could therefore be established.
Increase their transmission
To do this, researchers from the University of Bristol studied the infectivity of the Delta, Beta and Omicron versions of Covid-19 inside several rooms where the CO2 concentrations were different.
In this case, an increase in the CO2 concentration from 400 ppm (parts per million) to 800 ppm led to a significant increase in their transmission. On the other hand, no difference was observed at higher concentration thresholds.
Implications for global warming?
Therefore, “this relationship helped to understand why spreading events can occur under certain conditions,” emphasized Allen Hadrell, the lead author of the study.
In an environment concentrated in CO2, the droplets containing Covid decrease their pH, which increases the duration of their infection. This study therefore reinforces the recommendation that it is essential to ventilate a room well to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus.
Therefore, this correlation between CO2 and the life span of viruses may have implications for global warming. According to some climatologists, the CO2 concentration level in the atmosphere could indeed increase from 400 ppm to 550 ppm in the coming years. In other words: this phenomenon “could coincide with an increase in transmissibility of other respiratory viruses,” said Allen Hadrell.
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