Co-existence of airborne SARS-CoV-2 infection and non-infection in three connected zones of a restaurant.

Autor: Jia W; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Wang Q; National Observation and Research Station of Coastal Ecological Environments in Macao, Macao Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macao 999078, China., Lung DC; Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, China; Department of Pathology, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong, China., Chan PT; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Wang P; Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA., Dung EC; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Didik T; Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, China; Department of Pathology, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong, China., Choi GK; Department of Pathology, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong, China., Tse H; Department of Pathology, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, Hong Kong, China., Wu Y; Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Miao T; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Chen W; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Qian H; School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing, China., Xue F; Department of Real Estate and Construction, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China., Li Y; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: liyg@hku.hk.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of hazardous materials [J Hazard Mater] 2024 Dec 05; Vol. 480, pp. 136388. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 04.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136388
Abstrakt: The lack of knowledge on quanta generation rates presents a major obstacle to specifying the minimum ventilation required to prevent airborne infections. The expected largest quanta generation rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by a super-spreader remains unknown. Here we investigated a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak during lunch in a restaurant using epidemiological, whole-genome sequencing and environmental analyses. Both tracer gas and fine particles were used in field experiments to quantify aerosol dispersion and removal across three interconnected zones: Zone A, Zone B and Zone C. All 21 secondary patron infections occurred in Zone B. This unique infection feature and measured dilution flow rates allowed us to estimate the largest reported quanta generation rates to date, ranging from 1724 to 1968 quanta/h. These rates were sufficiently high to cause a high attack rate in Zone B but did not cause infections in Zones A and C, likely due to sufficient dilution and insignificant contaminated airflow from Zone B, respectively. Our finding of the largest quanta generation rate so far suggests that avoiding secondary infection by dilution alone in the presence of a super-emitter might not be possible in typical air-conditioned buildings and other prevention strategies need to be developed.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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