ReviewThe Journal of hospital infection2013
Roles of sunlight and natural ventilation for controlling infection: historical and current perspectives.
Review in The Journal of hospital infection, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Lighting in the Home and Health: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Negative pressure of the environmental air in the cleaning area of the materials and sterilization center: a systematic review.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem · 2016Pooled it
- Viability studies of bacterial strains exposed to nitrogen oxides and light in controlled atmospheric conditions.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Housing Initiatives to Address Strep A Infections and Reduce RHD Risks in Remote Indigenous Communities in Australia.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and risk factors associated with nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in horses and their caregivers.Veterinary research · 2024Article
- Development of a novel dynamic nosocomial infection risk management method for COVID-19 in outpatient settings.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Article
- Increasing ratio of opportunistic infections associated with sunshine exposure and economic level burdening Chinese inflammatory bowel disease hospitalized patients: the first nationwide survey from 2014 to 2019.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Assessing ventilation through ambient carbon dioxide concentrations across multiple healthcare levels in Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Airborne transmission of biological agents within the indoor built environment: a multidisciplinary review.Air quality, atmosphere, & health · 2023Review
- What were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic?Indoor air · 2022Review
- Ventilation strategies and design impacts on indoor airborne transmission: A review.Building and environment · 2022Review
- Review
- An overview of solutions for airborne viral transmission reduction related to HVAC systems including liquid desiccant air-scrubbing.Energy (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Article
- Application of Machine Learning to Study the Association between Environmental Factors and COVID-19 Cases in Mississippi, USA.Mathematics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Healthcare-acquired clusters of COVID-19 across multiple wards in a Scottish health board.The Journal of hospital infection · 2022Article
- Implementation status of national airborne infection control guidelines in the health care facilities of a North Indian State: A mixed method study.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2021Article
- Reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in hospitals: focus on additional infection control strategies.Surgery (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInfections caught in buildings are a major global cause of sickness and mortality. Understanding how infections spread is pivotal to public health yet current knowledge of indoor transmission remains poor.
aimTo review the roles of natural ventilation and sunlight for controlling infection within healthcare environments.
methodsComprehensive literature search was performed, using electronic and library databases to retrieve English language papers combining infection; risk; pathogen; and mention of ventilation; fresh air; and sunlight. Foreign language articles with English translation were included, with no limit imposed on publication date.
findingsIn the past, hospitals were designed with south-facing glazing, cross-ventilation and high ceilings because fresh air and sunlight were thought to reduce infection risk. Historical and recent studies suggest that natural ventilation offers protection from transmission of airborne pathogens. Particle size, dispersal characteristics and transmission risk require more work to justify infection control practices concerning airborne pathogens. Sunlight boosts resistance to infection, with older studies suggesting potential roles for surface decontamination.
conclusionsCurrent knowledge of indoor transmission of pathogens is inadequate, partly due to lack of agreed definitions for particle types and mechanisms of spread. There is recent evidence to support historical data on the effects of natural ventilation but virtually none for sunlight. Modern practice of designing healthcare buildings for comfort favours pathogen persistence. As the number of effective antimicrobial agents declines, further work is required to clarify absolute risks from airborne pathogens along with any potential benefits from additional fresh air and sunlight.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.