Aerodynamic Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in Two Wuhan Hospitals
Open accessAbstract
The ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread rapidly on a global scale. Although it is clear that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted through human respiratory droplets and direct contact, the potential for aerosol transmission is poorly understood 1-3. Here we investigated the aerodynamic nature of SARS-CoV-2 by measuring viral RNA in aerosols in different areas of two Wuhan hospitals during the outbreak of COVID-19 in February and March 2020. The concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols that was detected in isolation wards and ventilated patient rooms was very low, but it was higher in the toilet areas used by the patients. Levels of airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the most public areas was undetectable, except in two areas that were prone to crowding; this increase was possibly due to individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the crowd. We found that some medical staff areas initially had high concentrations of viral RNA with aerosol size distributions that showed peaks in the submicrometre and/or supermicrometre regions; however, these levels were reduced to undetectable levels after implementation of rigorous sanitization procedures. Although we have not established the infectivity of the virus detected in these hospital areas, we propose that SARS-CoV-2 may have the potential to be transmitted through aerosols. Our results indicate that room ventilation, open space, sanitization of protective apparel, and proper use and disinfection of toilet areas can effectively limit the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in aerosols. Future work should explore the infectivity of aerosolized virus.
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The majority of particles and their evaporated nuclei generated through human expiration activities have sizes varying from 0.05 to 500 μm.
“Related investigations have shown that the majority of particles and their evaporated nuclei generated through human expiration activities have sizes varying from 0.05 to 500 μm [12–16].”
From The protective performance of reusable cloth face masks, disposable procedure masks, KN95 masks and N95 respirators: Filtration and total inward leakage (2021) · cites this paper as [14]
The results (Nature, p. 559) report size ranges for SARS-CoV-2 aerosols collected in two hospitals, not for the majority of particles generated by human expiration. A search for evaporated nuclei and the claimed 0.05–500 μm range found no passage in our copy that establishes that range. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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- Authors
- Liu, Y., Ning, Z., Chen, Y., Guo, M., Liu, Y., Gali, N. K., Sun, L., Duan, Y., Cai, J., Westerdahl, D., Liu, X., Xu, K., Ho, K.-F., Kan, H., Fu, Q., & Lan, K.
- Affiliations
- Wuhan University (CN)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Ning, Zhi
- Chen, Yu
- Ho, Kin-fai
- Kan, Haidong
- Fu, Qingyan
- Lan, Ke
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2020-04-27
- Volume
- 582
- Issue
- 7813
- Pages
- 557-560
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W3018334611
- Cited by
- 1,872
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 74 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 201 · 2022: 359 · 2021: 582 · 2020: 500 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 231.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wuhan University
- Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University
- Eurostars
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Infection Control and Ventilation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › COVID-19 impact on air quality
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure
- Keywords
- SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 pandemic, airborne transmission, aerosol size distribution, indoor ventilation, sanitization, crowding, healthcare workers
- MeSH terms
- Bathroom Equipment, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Aerosols, China, Crowding, Disinfection, Hospitals, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Masks, Medical Staff, Patients, Pneumonia, Viral, RNA, Viral, Social Isolation, Ventilation, Workplace, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics
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