Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32521345›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2020

How can airborne transmission of COVID-19 indoors be minimised?

Lidia Morawska, Julian W Tang, William Bahnfleth, Philomena M Bluyssen, Atze Boerstra, Giorgio Buonanno, Junji Cao, Stephanie Dancer, Andres Floto, Francesco Franchimon and 26 more

Open access · goldAbstract readLetter
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 427 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
427citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
137.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

427 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 1,354 citations in OpenAlex.

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367 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

36 authors at 20 institutions in 14 countries.

Lidia MorawskaInternational Laboratory for Air Quality and Heath (ILAQH), WHO Collaborating Centre for Air Quality and Health, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: l.morawska@qut.edu.au.
Julian W TangRespiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom.
William BahnflethDepartment of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
Philomena M BluyssenFaculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Atze BoerstraREHVA (Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations), BBA Binnenmilieu, the Netherlands.
Giorgio BuonannoDepartment if Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino, Italy.
Junji CaoKey Lab of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an, Beijing, China.
Stephanie DancerEdinburgh Napier University and NHS Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Andres FlotoDepartment of Medicine, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Francesco FranchimonFranchimon ICM, the Netherlands.
Charles HaworthCambridge Centre for Lung Infection, Royal Papworth Hospital and Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Jaap HogelingInternational Standards at ISSO, ISSO International Project, the Netherlands.
Christina IsaxonErgonomics and Aerosol Technology Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Jose L JimenezDepartment of Chemistry, and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
Jarek KurnitskiREHVA Technology and Research Committee, Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia.
Yuguo LiDepartment of Mechancal Engineering, Hong Kong University, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
Marcel LoomansDepartment of the Built Environment, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), the Netherlands.
Guy MarksCentre for Air quality Research and evaluation (CAR), University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Linsey C MarrCivil and Environmental Engineering, VA Tech, USA.
Livio MazzarellaAiCARR, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Arsen Krikor MelikovInternational Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
Shelly MillerMechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
Donald K MiltonEnvironmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, USA.
William NazaroffDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Peter V NielsenFaculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Civil Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark.
Catherine NoakesSchool of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Jordan PecciaEnvironmental Engineering, Yale University, USA.
Xavier QuerolInstitute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Department of Geosciences, Spanish National Research Council, Barcelona, Spain.
Chandra SekharDepartment of Building, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Olli SeppänenAalto University, Finland.
Shin-Ichi TanabeArchitectural Institute of Japan, Japan.
Raymond TellierMcGill University, Canada.
Kwok Wai ThamDepartment of Building, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Pawel WargockiInternational Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
Aneta WierzbickaErgonomics and Aerosol Technology, Lund University, Sweden.
Maosheng YaoCollege of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Lund University · SENational University of Singapore · SGPennsylvania State University · USTechnical University of Denmark · DKUniversity of Cambridge · GBAalborg University · DKAalto University · FIBeijing Institute of Architectural Design (China) · CNChinese Academy of Sciences · CNCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences · USDelft University of Technology · NLEdinburgh Napier University · GBEindhoven University of Technology · NLInstitute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research · ESMcGill University · CAPeking University · CNPolitecnico di Milano · ITQueensland University of Technology · AUTallinn University of Technology · EEUniversità degli studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During the rapid rise in COVID-19 illnesses and deaths globally, and notwithstanding recommended precautions, questions are voiced about routes of transmission for this pandemic disease. Inhaling small airborne droplets is probable as a third route of infection, in addition to more widely recognized transmission via larger respiratory droplets and direct contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces. While uncertainties remain regarding the relative contributions of the different transmission pathways, we argue that existing evidence is sufficiently strong to warrant engineering controls targeting airborne transmission as part of an overall strategy to limit infection risk indoors. Appropriate building engineering controls include sufficient and effective ventilation, possibly enhanced by particle filtration and air disinfection, avoiding air recirculation and avoiding overcrowding. Often, such measures can be easily implemented and without much cost, but if only they are recognised as significant in contributing to infection control goals. We believe that the use of engineering controls in public buildings, including hospitals, shops, offices, schools, kindergartens, libraries, restaurants, cruise ships, elevators, conference rooms or public transport, in parallel with effective application of other controls (including isolation and quarantine, social distancing and hand hygiene), would be an additional important measure globally to reduce the likelihood of transmission and thereby protect healthcare workers, patients and the general public.

Indexed as

Air MicrobiologyAerosolsBetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19CrowdingDisinfectionFiltrationHumansInhalation ExposurePandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2VentilationAerosols

Identifiers

PMID32521345
PMCPMC7250761
OpenAlexW3032857945

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.