- Facts
- Science & Education
- 01 June 2022
- Last updated: May 31, 2022
Since COVID-19 caused a global pandemic, we have been very aware of the danger of airborne diseases
How can virus particles spread through the air? What conditions are needed to spread the virus through the air? And more importantly, what can we do to prevent that? Researchers from various (technical) universities led by TU Twente will jointly receive a 4 million euro subsidy from the NWO to answer these questions. UMCG researcher Mariëtte Lokate is one of them.
Previously, epidemiologist and Infection Prevention expert Lokate, together with the former head of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention of the UMCG Alex Friedrich, already conducted research into the aerogenic spread of the Coronavirus. The MIST (MItigation STRategies for Airborne Infection Control, MIST) program is a follow-up to this. The universities of Twente, Delft, Wageningen and Amsterdam mainly focus on aerodynamics, fluid mechanics and air treatment, while Lokate from the UMCG is mainly responsible for the epidemiological part of the study.
Since COVID-19 caused a global pandemic, we have been very aware of the danger of airborne diseases. Where it was first assumed that COVID-19 mainly spread via larger droplets (which usually descend within 1.5 meters, hence the 1.5 meter rule), we now know that the Coronavirus can also be contained in tiny droplets, which are much less are heavy and therefore do not descend nearly as quickly. The virus can therefore remain in the air longer and thus spread at a much greater distance. This is called aerogenic spread. In the previous study by Lokate and Friedrich, in about 30-40% of cases, aerogenic virus particles were found more than 2 meters away. Yet there is still much we do not know about this airborne virus transmission.
The aerogenic spread seems to depend not only on airflows and ventilation, but also on the person spreading the virus and the stage of infection. In the MIST program, virologists, epidemiologists, fluid mechanics and engineers work together to understand and prevent airborne virus transmission. The researchers are studying the infectiousness of viruses, the spread of moisture droplets in the air, and the influence of ventilation and air purification on virus transmission under various conditions. The research program should lead to practical recommendations about which measures can be deployed most efficiently, cost-effectively and sustainably in different environments. This can be in hospitals, but also in schools, public transport and in people’s homes.
The researchers are expected to present the first research results in two years’ time.
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- Name author and/or edited by: UMCG / Janneke Kruse
- Photographer or photo agency: : INGImages
- Source for this article: : UMCG
- What is the URL for this resource?: https://www.umcg.nl/s/miljoenensubsidie-voor-onderzoek-naar-virusoverdracht-via-lucht
- Original title: Millions in subsidy for research into virus transmission via air
- Target audience: Healthcare Professionals, Students
- Datum: 2022-05-31