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Published on: December 10, 2013
Shared Children's Bedrooms May Pose High Risks of Airborne Influenza A Virus and Rhinovirus Transmission: A
Ngoc Pham1, Amanda M Wilson2, Peter Spicka1
1S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin, USA.
Insights
Children sharing bedrooms face high risks of respiratory viral infections like influenza and rhinovirus. Poor ventilation and furniture arrangement increase transmission, especially for rhinovirus.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
Background:
- Household transmission of respiratory viruses poses significant public health and economic challenges.
- Understanding transmission dynamics in shared spaces like bedrooms is crucial for prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the risk of influenza and rhinovirus infection for a child sharing a bedroom with an infected child.
- To utilize a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) approach.
Main Methods:
- Simulated a shared bedroom scenario with two children for 6 hours.
- Modeled virus-laden aerosol release from an infected individual under low and high shedding conditions.
- Applied dose-response curves for rhinovirus and influenza A (H1N1, H3N2) to estimate infection risks.
Main Results:
- Rhinovirus infection risk exceeded 0.99, irrespective of shedding intensity.
- High shedding scenarios increased H3N2 and H1N1 risks by 1.5 and 0.9 log10, respectively.
- Aerosol plumes from infected individuals to susceptible individuals were observed, contributing to high risks, especially with low ventilation.
Conclusions:
- Shared bedrooms present substantial respiratory viral infection risks, particularly with inadequate ventilation.
- Furniture alignment and low air exchange rates facilitate aerosol plume formation, increasing transmission.
- Interventions focusing on ventilation and spatial arrangement are vital for reducing household viral transmission.
Abstract:
Household transmission risks can be especially high for respiratory viral diseases and have impactful economic and public health consequences. The study objective was to estimate influenza and rhinovirus infection risks for a child sharing a bedroom with another infected child using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) approach. The scenario was two recumbent children lying on twin-sized beds in a 25.5 m3 bedroom for 6 h. The infected individual released virus-laden aerosols under scenarios: Low and high severity shedding. Rhinovirus and influenza A virus (H1N1 and H3N2) dose-response curves were used to estimate infection risks. Infection risks were highest for rhinovirus, >0.99 regardless of viral shedding intensity. High severity settings yielded risks 1.5 and 0.9 log10 higher for H3N2 and H1N1 infection risks, respectively. A plume formed from the infected individuals exhaled breath to the susceptible individual's face, which may explain, in part, the high risks estimated. While settings for tidal breathing did not disrupt the formation of this plume, increased air exchange rate did. Respiratory viral infection risks can be high in shared bedroom scenarios, especially with low fresh air ventilation and alignment of furniture such that plumes can form between the faces of individuals.
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