ArticleAnnals of medicine2021
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during air travel: a descriptive and modelling study.
Article in Annals of medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- A theoretical epidemiological investigation into the transmission of respiratory infectious diseases during group meals among military personnel based on an individual-based model.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Air Passengers' Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Infection With a 14-Day Quarantine and Accuracy Assessment of a Symptom-based Screening System at an Airport.Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi · 2025Article
- Contraction of Respiratory Viral Infection During air Travel: An Under-Recognized Health Risk for Athletes.Sports medicine - open · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Cases Reported on International Arriving and Domestic Flights: United States, January 2020-December 2021.American journal of public health · 2023Article
- Bioaerosol distribution characteristics and potential SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in a multi-compartment dental clinic.Building and environment · 2022Article
- The role of precautions: Organising a medical conference during COVID-19 pandemic-Lessons from IADVL MIDDERMACON 2021.JEADV clinical practice · 2022Article
- The emission and dynamics of droplets from human expiratory activities and COVID-19 transmission in public transport system: A review.Building and environment · 2022Review
- International air travel-related control measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic: A companion review to a Cochrane rapid review.New microbes and new infectionsReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo explore the potential of SARS-CoV-2 spread during air travel and the risk of in-flight transmission.
methodsWe enrolled all passengers and crew suspected of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, who bounded for Beijing on international flights. We specified the characteristics of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection and utilised Wells-Riley equation to estimate the infectivity of COVID-19 during air travel.
resultsWe screened 4492 passengers and crew with suspected COVID-19 infection, verified 161 confirmed cases (mean age 28.6 years), and traced two confirmed cases who may have been infected in the aircraft. The estimated infectivity was 375 quanta/h (range 274-476), while the effective infectivity was only 4 quanta/h (range 2-5). The risk of per-person infection during a 13 h air travel in economy class was 0.56‰ (95% CI 0.41‰-0.72‰).
conclusionWe found that the universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19.KEY MESSAGESThe COVID-19 pandemic is changing the lifestyle in the world, especially air travel which has the potential to spread SARS-CoV-2.The universal use of face masks on the flight, together with the plane's ventilation system, significantly decreased the infectivity of COVID-19 on an aircraft.Our findings suggest that the risk of infection in aircraft was negligible.
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