COVID-19 may transmit through aerosol
COVID-19 may transmit through aerosol
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DOI：
10.1007/s11845-020-02218-2
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发表时间：
2020-03-24
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Du, Guoqiang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Wang, Juan;Du, Guoqiang
编辑先生：2月18日，中华人民共和国国家卫生健康委员会发布了《新型冠状病毒感染诊疗指南（试行第六版）》[1]。随着对该病的认识和了解，指南显示飞沫和密切接触传播是主要传播途径，在相对封闭的环境中长时间暴露于高浓度气溶胶的条件下，气溶胶传播是可能的[1]。气溶胶是由分散和悬浮在空气中的固体或液体颗粒形成的颗粒。它们含有土壤颗粒、工业粉尘颗粒、汽车排放的颗粒、细菌、微生物、植物孢子粉和其他成分。当一个人感染了病毒，咳嗽，打喷嚏，剧烈呼吸，或大声说话，病毒将从体内排出，并可能与气溶胶溶解，成为生物气溶胶。生物气溶胶中的颗粒直径通常为0.3至100 μm;然而，1至10 μm的可吸入颗粒是主要关注的。大小在1.0至5.0微米之间的生物气溶胶通常留在空气中，而较大的颗粒则沉积在表面上。飞沫是人打喷嚏或咳嗽时排出的唾液飞沫，其颗粒大小一般为1至5毫米，在距离传染源约1至2米的空间内传播。然而，气溶胶可以行进数百米或更远。更重要的是，目前的研究已经证明，气溶胶参与了SARS、MERS、H1N1等疾病的传播[2-5]。如果COVID-19感染不能通过气溶胶传播，就很难解释一些确诊病例。2月3日，内蒙古鄂尔多斯市达拉特旗疾控部门通报，第4例确诊病例住在第1例确诊病例的楼上，曾多次从第1例确诊病例家门口经过上下楼，其中房门经常打开，门边有一些生活垃圾[6]。此外，武汉市金银潭医院检验科4名检验科技术人员感染COVID-19，其中4人与确诊病例无接触[7]。他们是怎么被感染的？一种可能是，患者的血液样本暴露在空气中形成气溶胶，气溶胶中的病毒传染给了这四名技术人员。总而言之，COVID-19可能通过气溶胶直接传播，但需要进一步通过实验验证。如果气溶胶可以传播COVID-19，那么防控工作将更加困难。
Dear Editor, On Feb 18, the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China published the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 infection (trial version 6)[1]. With the awareness and understanding of the disease, the guidelines show that the droplets and close contact transmission are the main routes of transmission, and aerosol transmission is possible under the condition of long exposure to high concentrations of aerosols in a relatively closed environment [1]. Aerosols are particles formed by solid or liquid particles dispersed and suspended in the air. They contain soil particles, industrial dust particles, particulates emitted by automobiles, bacteria, microorganisms, plant spore powders, and other components. When a person, who was infected with the virus, coughs, sneezes, breathes vigorously, or speaks loudly, the virus will be excreted from the body and may dissolve with the aerosol and become the bio-aerosols. The particles in a bio-aerosol are generally 0.3 to 100 μm in diameter; however, the respirable size fraction of 1 to 10 μm is of primary concern. Bio-aerosols ranging in size from 1.0 to 5.0 μm generally remain in the air, whereas larger particles are deposited on surfaces. Droplets are droplets of saliva discharged by people sneezing or coughing, and their particle size is generally 1 to 5 mm. They spread in a space of about 1 to 2 m from the source of infection. However, the aerosol can travel hundreds of meters or more. More importantly, current researches have proven that aerosols are involved in the spread of SARS, MERS, H1N1, and some other diseases [2–5]. If COVID-19 infection cannot transmit by aerosol, it will hardly to explain some confirmed cases. On Feb 3, the Disease Control Department of Dalat Banner, Ordos City, InnerMongolia, announced that the fourth confirmed case lived upstairs of the first confirmed case, who went up and down the building several times by passing by the door of the first confirmed case, of whom the door was often opened and there was some domestic garbage beside the door [6]. Moreover, four clinical laboratory technicians in the Department of Clinical Laboratory of Jinyintan Hospital, Wuhan, were infected with COVID-19, of whom had no contact with the confirmed cases [7]. How did they get infected? One possibility is that the patients’ blood samples are exposed to the air to form aerosols, and the viruses in the aerosols are transmitted to the four technicians. All in all, COVID-19 may transmit through aerosol directly, but it needs to be further verified by experiments. If the aerosols can spread COVID-19, prevention and control will be much more difficult.