The World Health Organization on Thursday released a new scientific report detailing how coronaviruses can move from one person to another – including through the air during certain medical procedures.
The report also notes that there are still many unanswered questions about airborne transmission and how the virus actually spreads.
The report came just days after the publication of a letter signed Monday by 239 scientists who urged the agency to be more open about the possibility that people could catch the virus from droplets floating in the air.
“Transmission of the virus through the air can occur in health care settings where certain medical procedures, called aerosol-producing procedures, produce very small droplets called aerosols. Several outbreak reports relating to crowded spaces in the room have suggested the possibility of aerosol transmission, combined with droplet transmission, for example, during choir practice, in a restaurant or in a fitness class, “says a new WHO report on coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2.
However, “current evidence suggests that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs mainly between people through direct, indirect, or close contact with infected people through infected secretions such as saliva and respiratory secretions, or through their respiratory droplets, which are excreted when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks or sings, “the report said. “Respiratory drops from an infected person can also land on objects.”
The report also said that “the COVID-19 outbreak was reported in a number of closed settings, such as restaurants, night clubs, places of worship or workplaces where people might shout, talk, or sing. In this outbreak, aerosols of transmission, especially in locations in a room where there is a crowded and not ventilated room where an infected person spends a long time with someone else, cannot be ruled out. “
In general, according to WHO, airborne transmission refers to an infectious pathogen that causes disease to spread in the air and remains contagious when floating in the air for long distances and time.
Dr Benedetta Allegranzi, WHO’s technical leader for Infection Prevention and Control, said in a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the agency had discussed and cooperated with many scientists who signed a letter stating that WHO was not forthright about airborne transmission.
“We recognize that there is evidence emerging in this field, as in all other fields about the Covid-19 virus and pandemic, and we therefore believe that we must be open to this evidence and understand its implications regarding the mode of transmission, and also about preventive measures. that needs to be taken, “Allegranzi said.
For some time, “we have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission, as one of the modes of Covid-19 transmission,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO technical leader for coronavirus and head of the emerging disease and zoonosis response. The unit, which was previously said during a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“This is a respiratory pathogen and it is therefore important that what we know fits into the guidelines we have, which is why a comprehensive intervention package is needed to be able to stop transmission,” Van Kerkhove said. “This does not only cover physical distance. This includes the use of appropriate masks in certain settings, specifically where you cannot do physical distance, and especially for health workers.”
