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Multi-Scale Airborne Infectious Disease Transmission.
Charles F Dillon1, Michael B Dillon2
1Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|December 5, 2020
Summary
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.
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