Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 27, 2025
Detection of Viruses from Bioaerosols Using Anion Exchange Resin
Published on: August 22, 2018
Multi-Scale Airborne Infectious Disease Transmission
Charles F Dillon1, Michael B Dillon2
1Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Abstract:
Airborne disease transmission is central to many scientific disciplines including agriculture, veterinary biosafety, medicine, and public health. Legal and regulatory standards are in place to prevent agricultural, nosocomial, and community airborne disease transmission. However, the overall importance of the airborne pathway is underappreciated, e.g.,, US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subjects Headings (MESH) thesaurus lacks an airborne disease transmission indexing term. This has practical consequences as airborne precautions to control epidemic disease spread may not be taken when airborne transmission is important, but unrecognized. Publishing clearer practical methodological guidelines for surveillance studies and disease outbreak evaluations could help address this situation.To inform future work, this paper highlights selected, well-established airborne transmission events - largely cases replicated in multiple, independently conducted scientific studies. Methodologies include field experiments, modeling, epidemiology studies, disease outbreak investigations and mitigation studies. Collectively, this literature demonstrates that airborne viruses, bacteria, and fungal pathogens have the capability to cause disease in plants, animals, and humans over multiple distances - from near range (< 5 m) to continental (> 500 km) in scale. The plausibility and implications of undetected airborne disease transmission are discussed, including the notable underreporting of disease burden for several airborne transmitted diseases.
Insights
Airborne disease transmission is underestimated, lacking recognition in scientific indexing and practical precautions. This review highlights evidence of airborne pathogens spreading diseases in plants, animals, and humans across vast distances.
Area of Science:
- Multidisciplinary relevance of airborne disease transmission in agriculture, veterinary biosafety, medicine, and public health.
Background:
- Existing legal and regulatory standards address agricultural, nosocomial, and community airborne disease transmission.
- The significance of the airborne route is underappreciated, evidenced by the lack of a specific indexing term in the US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subjects Headings (MESH) thesaurus.
- This underappreciation can lead to inadequate airborne precautions during epidemic disease spread, impacting public health and safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To underscore the importance of airborne disease transmission by reviewing established transmission events.
- To inform future research and practical guidelines for surveillance and outbreak evaluations.
- To discuss the implications of undetected airborne disease transmission and its underreporting.
Main Methods:
- Review of well-established airborne transmission events, supported by multiple independent scientific studies.
- Inclusion of methodologies such as field experiments, modeling, epidemiology studies, and disease outbreak investigations.
- Analysis of literature demonstrating airborne pathogen capabilities across various scales.
Main Results:
- Evidence confirms airborne viruses, bacteria, and fungal pathogens can cause disease in plants, animals, and humans.
- Documented transmission distances range from near (< 5 meters) to continental (> 500 km).
- The potential for undetected airborne disease transmission and its contribution to underreported disease burden is significant.
Conclusions:
- Airborne transmission is a critical factor in disease spread across diverse species and geographical scales.
- Improved methodological guidelines for surveillance and outbreak evaluations are needed.
- Recognizing and addressing the role of airborne transmission is crucial for effective disease control and accurate disease burden assessment.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Infection
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:29Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis II
Here is a detailed explanation of its pathophysiology:
Transmission: The process begins when a person inhales droplet nuclei containing M. tuberculosis. These are typically released into the air when an individual with pulmonary or...
00:57Viral Recombination
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...