Can air conditioners cause the spread of COVID-19?
A recent University of Maryland study showed that some air conditioning units could spread the new coronavirus.
THE ANGELS – Amid record temperatures across the country, people are starting up their air conditioners to beat the heat. But some researchers say air conditioning in closed public spaces may be causing the spread of the coronavirus.
Some experts hoped that the summer heat would dissipate the COVID-19 virus and provide a brief period of relief, but Dr. William Hanage, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, said that COVID-19 is unaffected. significantly due to the change in the seasons.
“People like me knew that the transmission was not going to go away in the heat for some time, months, since winter. We just didn’t know how big the impact would be, ”said Hanage.
In fact, some experts now believe that the heat may be having an exacerbating effect on the spread of the virus, as many people are being driven indoors to cool down. Edward Nardell, a professor at Harvard Medical School and an expert in infectious diseases, suggested on Friday that the use of air conditioning in the southern United States may be a factor in the increase in cases of COVID-19.
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“It is, but not necessarily because of the way you’re thinking,” Nardell said. “Due to air conditioning and excessive heat, people are indoors and they breathe each other in the air.”
Nardell presented data that surveyed locations in countries that had the largest increases in COVID-19 over time. “Places that were in need of more air conditioning have had the largest increases in COVID,” Nardell said. But Nardell pointed out that the data could have other correlates, and did not necessarily imply causation.
According to Hanage, the risk of transmission of the new coronavirus is higher indoors.
A recent study by the University of Maryland (UMD) showed that some air conditioning units could spread the virus, according to Don Milton, professor of environmental health at UMD. Their findings, which were published by the university’s School of Public Health, suggested that air conditioning can blow infected droplets hanging in the air.
“Outbreaks, in which there are a lot of people infected at once, occur almost exclusively indoors in poorly ventilated settings,” explained Milton.
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It’s another COVID-19 concern, as people try to stay indoors to get away from the hot weather. So what can people do?
Joseph Allen, an assistant professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health and director of its Healthy Buildings program, suspects COVID-19 airborne is likely, according to a recent interview with The Harvard Gazette. .
He said that a portable air purifier to filter particles in the air or a portable humidifier should help. In mechanically ventilated construction systems, Allen said almost all of them recirculate a certain amount of air. Recirculation causes emitting aerosols to be collected and transported to other areas of a building.
“One way to cut that when you have a recirculated air supply is to have high-efficiency filters, or certainly better filters than what is normally in a building, that will only capture a small percentage of viral particles,” Allen said.
Allen said that high-efficiency filters do a much better job of limiting transmission from one room to another.
If you don’t have a central air system, Allen suggested opening your windows as wide as possible. “You want to make sure that if you are recirculating the air, it is being filtered through updated filters.” He added that “HEPA filters capture 99.97 percent of the particles, so the updated filters can be effective.”
But Nardell said that nothing is infallible. “We are always talking about probability. Therefore, we can reduce the probability of infection by disinfecting the air. “
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Nardel said airborne infection is a problem in public buildings, where someone may have COVID-19. Disinfection techniques include UV lights, ambient air filters, and increased ventilation.
Nardell said ultraviolet lights can also sterilize COVID-19’s air. Ultraviolet germicidal lamps have proven effective in protecting against tuberculosis infection and are already used in some settings to combat SARS-CoV-2, according to Nardell. The lamps shine horizontally, where sterilization is required. Air currents circulate to the ceiling, where ultraviolet light kills pathogens.
Evidence has accumulated that some cases of COVID-19 occur through airborne transmission. According to the Microbiology Department of Mount Sinai Hospital, airborne transmission refers to situations in which the residue from the droplets remains suspended in the air for long periods of time. These organisms can survive long periods of time outside the body.
“Often the term ‘airborne transmission’ creates panic because people imagine these virus clouds roaming the streets behind them. But that’s not the way it works, “said Dr. Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech professor with experience in airborne virus transmission and air quality.” The concern is greatest when you’re around an infected person. , if they are talking, especially if you are inside because the virus can accumulate in the air. “
COVID-19 in the air: how to make indoor spaces safer
Dr. Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech professor with experience in airborne virus transmission and air quality, discusses ways to make offices and schools safer in the midst of the pandemic.
Marr was among 239 scientists from various fields who recently contributed to an open letter asking the World Health Organization to recognize that coronavirus can spread in the air and urged WHO to update its official guidance on the matter.
Last week, the World Health Organization updated the guidance on airborne droplets related to coronavirus transmission.
The scientific report, released July 9, said the transmission of short-range aerosols, particularly at specific indoor locations, “cannot be ruled out.”
The WHO said that some experimental studies found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains active within aerosols for long periods of time. The virus was in aerosols for up to three hours in one study and 16 hours in another. However, these findings were from experimentally induced aerosols that do not reflect normal human cough conditions, the WHO noted.
Airborne transmission is believed to have been a factor in the spread of COVID-19 at a restaurant in Wuhan, China in January.
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In a study published on the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the researchers found that the air conditioning system likely transmitted COVID-19 to 10 people.
Of the 91 people in the restaurant during that time, only those at tables in the path of air conditioning airflow contracted the virus, the study reported.
“The direction of the air flow was consistent with the droplet transmission. To prevent the spread of the virus in restaurants, we recommend increasing the distance between tables and improving ventilation, “the study said.
Hanage expects the broadcast to continue through the summer months unless something is done to stop it.
“This is not over,” said Hanage. “She is going to be with us for a really long period of time, and thus remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and to be able to take action now, that will be sustainable, that will protect you and your family . “
