ArticleNPJ microgravity2026
Modeling the risk of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses in microgravity.
Article in NPJ microgravity, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Airborne transmission is one of the most efficient routes of respiratory viral spread, posing a significant challenge in controlling major infectious diseases such as COVID-19. In microgravity environments, such as the International Space Station (ISS), this mode of transmission requires heightened vigilance and preventive measures due to the prolonged suspension of virus-laden particles, which increases the risk of infection. Using the COVID Airborne Risk Assessment (CARA) tool, we assess the risk of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses, using SARS-CoV-2 as a case study, in microgravity by simulating the emission, dispersion, and inhalation of virus-laden particles. Our simulations show that the unique conditions of microgravity allow these particles to remain airborne for more extended periods compared to Earth, leading to a 286-fold increase in virus concentration in the air and resulting in nearly twice the probability of infection for a susceptible host. We also evaluated the effectiveness of preventive measures. We found that facemasks could reduce the risk by up to 23%, while continuous HEPA filtration at five air changes per hour proves crucial for managing air quality and minimizing infection risks by reducing airborne virus concentration by 99.79%. To explore potential effects of spaceflight-induced immune suppression on transmission risk, we modeled hypothetical scenarios with increased viral shedding based on herpesvirus reactivation data. An 8-fold increase in viral load (as observed for herpesviruses in space) raised infection probability by 12 percentage points above baseline. Sensitivity analysis with 4-fold and 16-fold increases showed infection risk scales proportionally with viral shedding intensity. Although facemasks and air filtration help mitigate the risk, their effectiveness diminishes when viral load is elevated. Enhancing host immunity through vaccination or other interventions is vital, potentially reducing infection probability by up to 14.17% when combined with HEPA filtration.
Identifiers
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.