Mun-Keat Looi The BMJAfter the confusion of 2020, WHO has finally changed its definition of how diseases can spread through the air. In the spring of 2020, as covid-19 took hold, confusion reigned among scientists, doctors, public health experts, and others. The new report clearly divides transmission of pathogens into those that involve contact (with humans or with surfaces) and “through the air transmission.” Through the air transmission is then broken down into two subcategories: “direct deposition,” where droplets reach the mucus membranes of the mouth, eyes, or nose of another person (basically the previous WHO definition of airborne), and “airborne transmission or inhalation,” where droplets are inhaled. There is already agreement from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to adopt these definitions. They were keen to emphasise the importance of involving engineers and environmental scientists, not just public health experts and medics.

Source: New York Times May 07, 2024 09:57 UTC