196
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
Pfzer-BioNTech, and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. It has been
reported in 111 different countries. As of March 11, 2021, 143 cases
have been reported in 25 jurisdictions in the United States (CDC,
2020).
• B.1.1.28.1, also known as P.1: First detected in Brazil and Japan in
December of 2020 had key mutations of K417N, E484K, and N501Y.
It has increased transmissibility, and impacts on severity are under
investigation. Reinfections have been reported and impacts on vaccines are not known. It has been reported in 32 different countries.
As of March 11, 2021, 25 cases have been reported in 10 jurisdictions
in the United States (CDC, 2020).
11.2.4 Transmission of COVID-19
Airborne viruses and fne particulate matter have remarkable parallels in
how they are transmitted and accumulate in the respiratory tract. The coronavirus is similar in size to fne particulate matter. Infected people, many
asymptomatic, produce respiratory droplets and aerosols carrying the virus
that are transmitted in close quarters or in unventilated spaces, enabling it
to be inhaled into deeper air passages in the lungs. Just as fne particles from
cigarette smoke or pollution can be retained in the lungs, leading over time
to a range of adverse health effects including chronic lung diseases such as
asthma and bronchitis, as well as cancer; coronavirus attacks the lungs (as
well as other organs) once it reaches a critical level of exposure, triggering
an often-fatal inability to breathe. In both cases, airborne transmission and
persistence likely play a critical role.
A potential breakthrough that supports the case for transmission of
COVID-19 via respiratory droplets, or aerosols, occurred with the preliminary publication of research conducted at the University of Florida in August
2020 (Lednicky et al., 2020), where a team “succeeded in isolating live virus
from aerosols collected at a distance of seven to 16 feet from patients hospitalized with COVID-19—farther than the six feet recommended in social
distancing guidelines.” In the new study, researchers devised a sampler that
uses pure water vapor to enlarge the aerosols enough that they can be collected easily from the air. Rather than leave these aerosols sitting, the equipment immediately transfers them into a liquid that is rich with salts, sugar,
and protein, which preserves the pathogen. It is a tantalizing clue toward
understanding the role that aerosol-based transmission plays in the spread
of the contagion.
Other studies provide strong evidence that airborne transmission of
COVID-19 follows the same basic principles of transmission of other small
size airborne contaminants. An analysis of a call center in Seoul, South Korea,
showed how a coronavirus outbreak traveled among workers in one half of
the foor of a building in a tight, shared airspace with no outside ventilation,
Pesticides, Organic Contaminants, and Pathogens in Air
Pfzer-BioNTech, and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. It has been
reported in 111 different countries. As of March 11, 2021, 143 cases
have been reported in 25 jurisdictions in the United States (CDC,
2020).
• B.1.1.28.1, also known as P.1: First detected in Brazil and Japan in
December of 2020 had key mutations of K417N, E484K, and N501Y.
It has increased transmissibility, and impacts on severity are under
investigation. Reinfections have been reported and impacts on vaccines are not known. It has been reported in 32 different countries.
As of March 11, 2021, 25 cases have been reported in 10 jurisdictions
in the United States (CDC, 2020).
11.2.4 Transmission of COVID-19
Airborne viruses and fne particulate matter have remarkable parallels in
how they are transmitted and accumulate in the respiratory tract. The coronavirus is similar in size to fne particulate matter. Infected people, many
asymptomatic, produce respiratory droplets and aerosols carrying the virus
that are transmitted in close quarters or in unventilated spaces, enabling it
to be inhaled into deeper air passages in the lungs. Just as fne particles from
cigarette smoke or pollution can be retained in the lungs, leading over time
to a range of adverse health effects including chronic lung diseases such as
asthma and bronchitis, as well as cancer; coronavirus attacks the lungs (as
well as other organs) once it reaches a critical level of exposure, triggering
an often-fatal inability to breathe. In both cases, airborne transmission and
persistence likely play a critical role.
A potential breakthrough that supports the case for transmission of
COVID-19 via respiratory droplets, or aerosols, occurred with the preliminary publication of research conducted at the University of Florida in August
2020 (Lednicky et al., 2020), where a team “succeeded in isolating live virus
from aerosols collected at a distance of seven to 16 feet from patients hospitalized with COVID-19—farther than the six feet recommended in social
distancing guidelines.” In the new study, researchers devised a sampler that
uses pure water vapor to enlarge the aerosols enough that they can be collected easily from the air. Rather than leave these aerosols sitting, the equipment immediately transfers them into a liquid that is rich with salts, sugar,
and protein, which preserves the pathogen. It is a tantalizing clue toward
understanding the role that aerosol-based transmission plays in the spread
of the contagion.
Other studies provide strong evidence that airborne transmission of
COVID-19 follows the same basic principles of transmission of other small
size airborne contaminants. An analysis of a call center in Seoul, South Korea,
showed how a coronavirus outbreak traveled among workers in one half of
the foor of a building in a tight, shared airspace with no outside ventilation,