ArticleInterface focus2021
How did we get here: what are droplets and aerosols and how far do they go? A historical perspective on the transmission of respiratory infectious diseases.
Article in Interface focus, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 3 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
68 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Therapeutic Potential of Stem Cells in the Treatment and Management of Immunomodulatory Disorders.Current pharmaceutical design · 2026Pooled it
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Long distance airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: rapid systematic review.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Pooled it
- Can Non-Thermal Microwave Irradiation Inactivate Viruses? A Review with Some Computations.Viruses · 2026Review
- Management of Newborns Exposed to Maternal Influenza: A Scoping Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Review
- Size distribution and viral RNA load of influenza virus-laden airborne particles emitted from pigs over the course of an H1N1 infection.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The dual threat: exploring the emergence of human metapneumovirus and SARS-CoV-2 coinfections in respiratory infections.3 Biotech · 2025Review
- Strategies for Effective Public Health Communication in a Complex Information Environment.Annual review of public health · 2025Review
- Efficacy of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis in samples with different results by smear and culture in a coastal city with high incidence of tuberculosis.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Article
- Reflections From the Pandemic: Is Connectivism the Panacea for Clinicians?Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Bioaerosols and Airborne Transmission in the Dental Clinic.International dental journal · 2024Review
- Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) tool for modelling pathogen infection risk to wastewater treatment plant workers.Water research · 2024Article
- Carl Flügge, one of the last holistic hygienists and discoverer of droplet transmission of infectious diseases.Medical microbiology and immunology · 2024Article
- Comparison of microscopic and xpert MTB diagnoses of presumptive mycobacteria tuberculosis infection: retrospective analysis of routine diagnosis at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Review of factors affecting virus inactivation in aerosols and droplets.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2024Review
- The airborne transmission of viruses causes tight transmission bottlenecks.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Pandemic preparedness from the perspective of Occupational Health professionals.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2024Article
- Precise control of digital dental unit to reduce aerosol and splatter production: new challenges for future epidemics.BMC oral health · 2024Article
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed major gaps in our understanding of the transmission of viruses through the air. These gaps slowed recognition of airborne transmission of the disease, contributed to muddled public health policies and impeded clear messaging on how best to slow transmission of COVID-19. In particular, current recommendations have been based on four tenets: (i) respiratory disease transmission routes can be viewed mostly in a binary manner of 'droplets' versus 'aerosols'; (ii) this dichotomy depends on droplet size alone; (iii) the cut-off size between these routes of transmission is 5 µm; and (iv) there is a dichotomy in the distance at which transmission by each route is relevant. Yet, a relationship between these assertions is not supported by current scientific knowledge. Here, we revisit the historical foundation of these notions, and how they became entangled from the 1800s to today, with a complex interplay among various fields of science and medicine. This journey into the past highlights potential solutions for better collaboration and integration of scientific results into practice for building a more resilient society with more sound, far-sighted and effective public health policies.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.